Snapshots
by DnKS-giRLs
Summary: A collection of one shots following the event of Pure Hearted Love. Some mere snapshots portraying the live of Lelouch vi Britannia and Kururugi Suzaku as the royal couple of The Holy Empire of Britannia.
1. Chapter 1

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**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** Not ours… simple, right?

**Warning:** Remember 'Pure Hearted Love'? Remember the sap? Good…

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**Instalment 1 – **Winter Occurrence

January, Britannia Mainland, 2019 a.t.b

The snow that covered the Capital city of Pendragon told all with a very clear voice that winter was approaching. It was the very first winter that Lelouch vi Britannia spent with Kururugi Suzaku after their wedding. Months had come and gone ever since their somewhat overly grandiose wedding ceremony and still, Lelouch felt a bit embarrassed every time he was reminded of his current status. The faint blush that always adorned his cheeks every time he was being reminded of his present position seemed to already have a permanent attachment with him. Yet Suzaku seemed not to be disturbed even a bit to be referred as 'The Grand Duke of Kyoto and Prince Consort of The Holy Empire of Britannia, His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku'. If Lelouch did not know better, he would have assumed that Suzaku actually enjoyed the long title he now possessed.

Lelouch sighed faintly as he thought about his Suzaku. His eyes roamed outside the window, a habit that he still found hard to leave, and his eyes caught the sight of snow gently falling from the sky. Winter was coming, he noticed with a faint frown and without realizing it, he had already worried his lower lip with his teeth.

The coming of winter always brought some kind of apprehension to him. The cause of which was probably the fact that he seemed to always catch the cold during winter season. The moment those white snowflakes began dancing in the cold Britannian air, Lelouch would have a frown gracing his forehead. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, no matter how warm he kept the temperature of his room, no matter how many kinds of vitamins he consumed, he would still catch the cold. It had become some kind of annual occurrence and by the time he reached his fifteenth birthday, Lelouch had given up on trying to avoid it. Rather, he would just shrug his shoulders and wait for the fever to strike, as it always did every year without failing.

And that year, too, was no exception.

The morning when he woke up with a light dizziness, Lelouch had been prepared. He merely groaned and tried to throw the heavy blankets covering his body to get up from the bed. Yet he forgot that he was sharing his bed with another human being who instantly was awakened because of his movement.

A pair of amazingly alert emerald eyes greeted him, making him smile despite of his pounding head.

"Good morning," he greeted warmly. "Did I wake you up?"

Kururugi Suzaku smiled as he ran a hand through his messy brown locks. "Not really, I'm a morning person naturally. But it's unusual to see you up so early."

"Yes..." Lelouch mumbled as he pressed one of his palms against his temple. He needed some aspirin, or paracetamol, he was not picky. "I need to get something."

"Hm?" Lelouch saw Suzaku tilting his face a bit to the side as what his habit was whenever he inquired something. A strong hand came from under the blanket. It reached for his face, as if wanting to sweep his hair from his eyes. But the moment that hand touched his forehead, it stopped. And when Lelouch saw how Suzaku's eyes widened in surprise, he thought he might understand what had prompted the sudden halt of that hand.

"Lelouch," Suzaku said, a bit nervously. "You're burning up."

He chuckled. Suzaku's face looked so comical like that with confusion and worry and fear mixed up in his expression. Yet his chuckles died down when that hand caressed his face. The apparent worry on Suzaku's face warmed up his heart, and Lelouch found himself leaning to the touch, feeling a bit guilty of making Suzaku worried so much.

"It's just a fever," he said. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need some aspirin."

"Wait there, I'll get it for you," Suzaku said sternly. A rustling sound of bed sheets followed, and by that Lelouch knew that Suzaku was getting up. A tender kiss landed on his forehead, one which Lelouch took appreciatively, closing his eyes as he felt Suzaku's lips against his skin. When he opened his eyes, he could see those emerald orbs staring back at him in worry. "I'll be back soon. Don't try getting out of the bed by yourself."

"It's only a mild fever," Lelouch protested yet he conceded to the request, burying his body deeper to their soft and comfortable bed. He watched Suzaku walking to the direction of their bedroom door lovingly. It was nice to have someone care over him like that.

Turning his body so he lay on his back, Lelouch mused as his eyes fixed to the ceiling of his room. In the past, whenever he got ill, it was either his mother or Nunnally or one of the maids who would take care of him. Yet he knew that his mother also had her own business, considering her position as the Empress of The Holy Empire of Britannia, so he tried his best not to bother her much with his illness. With Nunnally, his conscience of being the older brother never allowed him to look anything but strong in front of his dear little sister. And taking his pride into account, it was perfectly reasonable that he should also refuse the help from the maids of the palace.

But with Suzaku, it almost seemed natural to just lie back and let himself be pampered. It was only right according to the norm, right, Lelouch thought. After all, Suzaku and he were... well, married now. It was only right to take care of one's partner. Moreover, he had moved out of Aries Imperial Palace after his wedding, leaving his mother and sister to live in a somewhat smaller yet not less grandeur Palace with Suzaku. When he was faced with his current condition, Lelouch knew it was either he should take the help from Suzaku or from one of the maids there. And of course he would prefer Suzaku's gentle care than any other. But...

A knock on the door disrupted his thought. Biding entrance, the click of the door afterward was the only thing heralding the coming of Suzaku with a silver tray balanced against his hip. With practiced ease, he walked to the bed and after putting the tray along with its contents on the nightstand beside the bed, His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku sat down on that overly spacious bed.

"I brought some breakfast too. You cannot take the medication with empty stomach," Suzaku said and Lelouch once again felt the sensation of that strong hand landed gently on his forehead. "Should I call the royal physician?"

"It's not necessary," Lelouch refused the notion. He hated those doctors with vengeance. "This is just a mild fever. I'm used to this."

"It doesn't feel so mild for me," Suzaku said with a frown.

"I just need to take some aspirin and drink a great amount of water," Lelouch still tried to assure Suzaku, but his emerald eyed spouse seemed unconvinced. "You don't have to worry."

"Of course I have to worry," Suzaku said. He was frowning but soon it melted to be replaced by a genial smile. The hand retracted itself from Lelouch's forehead only to be replaced by a pair of lips soon afterward. Against that smooth skin, Kururugi Suzaku whispered, "I am your husband, right? So of course I have to worry over you."

Lelouch felt the heat on his cheeks and he doubted it was solely due to his fever. His hands began to absentmindedly play with the bed sheets. He felt really happy to receive Suzaku's apparent care, yet there was a part in him refused to accept any weakness. He craved for Suzaku's attention yet he also did not want to bother Suzaku so much.

The lips left him, and Lelouch almost sighed at the loss. Looking up, he could see Suzaku smiling down at him.

"Come on, let's have you eat some breakfast," the cheerful young man said. "And I don't accept the answer 'no', okay?"

Lelouch gave a mock overly dramatic sigh yet the smile on his lips gave him away easily. Moving up so he sat propped against the head of the bed, he watched Suzaku carrying the tray to the bed. With Suzaku sitting in front of him and the tray placed conveniently on the bed between them, Lelouch then had a good access to observe both his husband and his breakfast carefully.

It was a simple breakfast of freshly baked breath, boiled eggs, blueberry jam, and butter. An apple and some milk accompanied the meals and on the corner of the tray, Lelouch could see some innocent bottles of paracetamol and pseudoepherdine standing beside a glass of water. He frowned.

"I thought I only asked for some aspirin," he said amusedly.

"Aspirin is not the answer for every kind of illness," Suzaku countered, his hands were already busy buttering two pieces of bread. Once it was done, he pushed the bread to Lelouch's direction. "Eat."

Lelouch stared at the bread, and when he found no desire in him to eat those pieces of bread, he began surveying the rest of his breakfast. It was then that he noticed that there was something really important missing from his breakfast that morning. "Where's my coffee?"

"You should never take your medication with coffee, Lelouch," Suzaku reprimanded him sternly. "And too much caffeine is not good for you."

"But I need my coffee," Lelouch protested, uncaring even a bit that he almost sounded like a spoiled child.

A finger was placed on his lips, silencing him from saying whatever thing he might want to say. Suzaku's face, so very close to his own, sported a tender smile that made him unable to stay feeling annoyed at him for long.

"No coffee for this morning, sweetheart. Now you are going to eat your breakfast and afterward take your medication," Suzaku said patiently before he gave a peck to Lelouch's cheek. "Please just humour your Suzaku this time, okay?"

Lelouch sighed. He knew he would never be able to say no to his Suzaku. "Can't I just eat the apple?" he asked hopefully. He, not so surprisingly, had little to no appetite that morning, courtesy of his illness.

"No," Suzaku said sternly. "You are to eat a proper and complete breakfast, Lelouch. You need that."

"But they say an apple a day keep the doctor away," Lelouch said with a slight pout yet his hand reached for the bread and he began to nibble on it albeit half-heartedly.

"If you throw it to the poor doctor, of course it will keep him away," Suzaku said with a chuckle before his gaze turned wistful as he watched Lelouch eating the bread slowly. "Sorry, I can only manage this. It's barely dawn, and the preparation in the kitchen is not yet complete so I can only prepare this kind of meagre breakfast for you."

Lelouch smiled around his half eaten piece of bread. Suzaku could be so sweet sometimes. And he had to remind himself it was his fault that his husband needed to wake up so early that morning and prepared him breakfast to boot. It was that thought that made Lelouch somehow managed to down his breakfast, the thought that it was Suzaku who had so kindly prepared everything for him. And even after somehow finished his breakfast, Suzaku still sat with him, measuring the dose of his medication, asked him tenderly if he needed more water, constantly checking on his temperature.

It felt really nice to receive such apparent care.

"What's the funny thing?" Suzaku asked, checking his temperature again while sweeping his hair from covering his eyes.

"Nothing, I just feel it's somewhat nice to be pampered like this," he admitted honestly. "Thank you very much for everything, Suzaku."

Suzaku stared at him for a moment, mouth a bit hanging open, until a big grin broke on his face, and he released an amused chuckle. "Oh, Lelouch, you are so sweet sometimes I feel like eating you."

Before Lelouch had any chance to respond he already found a pair of lips covering his own. His initial reaction was to panic since he absolutely did not want Suzaku catch his cold. But those lips were warm, and the kiss so pleasant that in no time he already banished any thought about stopping the kiss and instead reciprocated in the act much enthusiastically. Wounding his arms around that strong neck he brought Suzaku down with him to the bed where they continued their kiss that somehow reminded him of their very first kisses, months ago, that still remained so vivid within his memory.

When their lips did part, Lelouch was not the only one whose cheeks possessed a light sheen of blush. And naturally, he was not the only one whose eyes showing such clear expression of desire. Those emerald eyes he saw hovering above his face were shining so bright he would drown himself in them. Yet luckily, or maybe sadly, he still possessed a bit amount of self preservation and rationality in him that instead of kissing those lips yet again, he merely gave a light punch to Suzaku's chest.

"Pervert," he reprimanded gently without any bite in it.

"That I am," Suzaku agreed readily with an even readier smile.

"Suzaku, you'll catch my cold," Lelouch said with a hint of laughter in his voice as Suzaku nuzzled into his neck.

"Then you'll just have to take care of me, right?" Suzaku said, staring at him like a five year old boy so eager to eat his birthday cake. Sometimes Lelouch wondered if Suzaku would ever grow up. Yet sometimes he also hoped that Suzaku would never grow up so that those innocent emerald eyes would only look lovingly at him with determination that only a child could have.

He smiled and touched Suzaku's forehead with his forefinger, "Move the tray first, I don't want to accidentally kick it out of bed."

Suzaku gave an innocent tilt of the head even though his eyes were showing anything but innocence. "And after that?"

"After that, would you kiss me again, Your Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku?" Lelouch said with a seductive smile placed firmly upon his lips.

"Who am I to deny my only prince his request?" Suzaku said as his hands deftly moved the tray to the nearby nightstand.

"Wrong," Lelouch corrected him. "It should be 'who are you to deny your only love his request'."

Suzaku did in reality not deny his request. Those kisses he received afterward from his Knight cum husband were the proof to that. He could feel Suzaku's passion in those kisses. Yet he could also feel Suzaku's sweet love for him when the young Knight slowly stopped his ministration. With a single kiss dropped on his forehead, Lelouch felt Suzaku drawing back, creating some distance between their bodies which previously were pressed so close against one another.

"You need rest," Suzaku said with kindness in his eyes. "I'll tell Sir Jeremiah that you are feeling unwell so he might reschedule your activities for the day. Now you just sleep and don't worry yourself over anything unnecessary. I will take care of you."

Lelouch blinked. "I thought..."

"You thought I would advance further and take you?" Suzaku asked easily and Lelouch felt the blush threatening to overwhelm his cheeks as he, embarrassedly, nodded.

"Do please give your dear husband more credit, Lelouch. You think I'd do that when I know you're ill and in need of rest?" Suzaku said with a mock scowl. "Just sleep now and if you need anything, just call me."

"You shouldn't come close to me, actually, unless you want to..."

"If I catch your cold," Suzaku cut him in the middle of his sentence and Lelouch did not feel a bit surprised at the fact that his husband knew what exactly he was going to say. "You will be there to take care of me, right? So don't worry yourself over that. You're ill so I'll take care of you. And if I catch your cold and become ill myself, you'll repay the deed by taking care of me. Sounds fair, don't you think?"

"I just cannot win against you, can I?" he said with a smile.

"After so long and you only realize it now?' Suzaku said good-naturedly as he got up from the bed. "Lelouch, you are supposed to be intelligent. I'm disappointed."

Thankful for the fact that there were so many ready pillows within his reach, Lelouch threw one of those to the still chuckling Suzaku as his response to his words. Even though he knew Suzaku only let that pillow hit him to humour him, it still felt satisfying to see that soft and plush pillow hitting the grinning face of his husband. And even though he gave Suzaku a scowl, both of them knew there was really no hard feeling involved in it.

During the one week that followed that day, Lelouch vi Britannia was confined in his bed with a high fever. Yet strangely, he only gave his illness little mind. Should he be more daring, he would even say that he actually quite enjoyed his days being ill. His fever was bothering him, true, and sometimes his headache became so unbearable he could not sleep. Yet there was always someone beside him to clasp his hand gently, to kiss away his headache, to stand by his bedside each time he was supposed to take his medication, to always whisper in his ears during those painful hours when he could not sleep, the three fateful words of 'I love you'.

And he would always see those emerald eyes, that smiling face, that proud and strong figure that he loved so much so that even in his most painful moment, Lelouch could still feel thankful that there was a little blessing he could still enjoy during his illness. Suzaku really lived up his words. Never once did Lelouch remember he woke up from his restless sleep each morning without seeing his dear Suzaku quickly rushing to his side, anxiously asking him if he needed something, if he was in pain, if he wanted him to do anything.

Being exposed to such extent of care from his most beloved person was almost enough to send Lelouch to tears. Truly, in his all nineteen years of life, it was the time when he felt most grateful that he was ill. Grateful for Suzaku's presence. Grateful for Suzaku's love. Though Lelouch had yet to decide whether he should be grateful or annoyed at Suzaku's apparent immunity to illness. After a week staying by his side always, Lelouch thought that Suzaku would surely catch his cold. But no, his dear husband did not even give any indication that he was affected by any form of illness. Even on that certain night when Suzaku was overworked and came home late with a layer of snow on his coat, he still managed to wake up the following morning all sunshine smile and exuberant energy that Lelouch envied greatly.

Maybe it was true, Lelouch mused as his Suzaku approached the bed with a ready glass of water and medications in his hands, idiot people really would never catch the cold.

- end –

(A/N: this is the very first of many one shots we created following the events told in 'Pure Hearted Love'. Yes, we know we are a bunch of hopeless authors. At first we thought of writing the one shots first and then we would arrange them in a chronological manner and post them following that order. But then we thought: what if we never stopped writing? So, to cut the story short, we said to hell with chronological order. We would just post them once we finish writing them. So please do pardon if you see these series of snapshots in such messy order. And here we are rambling again. Well, you know the drill, any review you might throw at us will be appreciated, and any suggestion on what kind of scene you want to see would be put into consideration. Thank you for reading this and give these hopeless authors, and this story, a chance.)


	2. Chapter 2

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**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** Not ours, still.

**Warning:** Not recommended for those with diabetes

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**Instalment 2 – **Tea Break

August, Britannia Mainland, 2018 a.t.b

There was a knock on his door, disrupting Lelouch vi Britannia from signing yet another document from the pile in front of him. The knock forced a small frown to appear on his fair forehead. He had asked, just like what he did every time he had some serious work to do, to be left alone for the rest of the afternoon. He just could not think of someone bold enough to actually try to disturb him when he had clearly prohibited them from doing so.

Yet his puzzlement did not last long for his eyes caught the sight of the clock and realized it was already 4 in the afternoon. The hours did seem to pass by so quickly when he was engaged with something important. Without his realizing it, it was already time for his much needed afternoon tea break. Much needed indeed for even he had to admit his body had grown tired dealing with paperwork. A cup of hot tea and some sweets were probably what he wanted the most at the moment.

Smiling, he reclined his body back to his desk chair and called softly.

"Enter."

The double doors clicked open and the first thing to come was a man with smiling green eyes pushing a handcart into his study. His eyes widened and his lips parted in shock. From all people he could expect to bring him the tea, he never thought it would be _him_. He needed a moment before he could speak. And the first word he uttered was a name, a very familiar name.

"Suzaku," he said in disbelief. "Why are you… how…?"

Kururugi Suzaku, that man with those brilliant emerald eyes, only smiled. Walking until he stopped beside Lelouch's desk with the cart, Suzaku had a teasing smirk on his face as he stared at his stunned husband.

"Why am I what?" he asked playfully.

"Aren't you supposed to be in India? Why are you…" Lelouch tried to speak before he realized that his Suzaku, whom he had not seen during the last month, was standing in front of him, safe and sound. Without further ado, he sprang up from his seat and crossed the small distance between them to circle his arms around Suzaku's neck. Burying his face onto that strong shoulder, he allowed a smile to break on his lips.

He had missed that, Lelouch mused as Suzaku's arms wound around his body in an embrace that was both strong and tender. He could feel Suzaku drawing some kisses on the side of his neck, and the tingling sensation he felt was enough to rend him blushing. Yes, he had really missed his idiot of a husband for sure.

"I missed you," he admitted easily before drawing back so he could see Suzaku's face more clearly. He frowned. "But I thought you will come back next week."

"Change of plan," Suzaku answered. "Schneizel thought it was impolite for me to leave my newly wedded spouse for so long so he sent me back. Though I suspect he just could not stand my obvious melancholic moods any longer."

He chuckled, "Remind me to thank him the next moment I see him."

"I think I can do that," Suzaku agreed with a small laugh before he gave Lelouch the usual kiss on his lips. "I'm home."

Lelouch raised his hand and ruffled Suzaku's hair good-naturedly as he smiled. "Welcome home, Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku."

"I honestly prefer you say 'welcome home, my most beloved husband and lord'," Suzaku said.

"Too corny," Lelouch replied with mirth in his eyes. "Would you join me for tea?"

"That will be my pleasure," Suzaku said easily before giving a chaste kiss on his cheek and then proceeded to prepare the tea.

The afternoon tea was a custom Lelouch vi Britannia had unlearned to live without. It was necessary to calm his nerves down after hours of working with those migraine-induced documents. Yet that day, he felt the tea break was particularly delightful. He had been dealing with legal documents concerning the reestablishment of some regulations for some hours without much progress, and the break was more than appealing.

Moreover, he thought with a smile as he seated himself to the chair and caught the sight of Suzaku preparing the tea, his Suzaku was back to him.

"Earl Grey?" he asked when his nose sensed the faint scent of bergamot wafting through the air.

"You usually craved for some Earl Grey whenever you are extremely engaged with paperwork," Suzaku explained as his hands poured the steaming dark brown liquid into two cups. Yet his eyes hinted a sense of doubt when he said, "Or do you prefer something else?"

Lelouch smiled and shook his head. For someone so idiotic, Suzaku could be so perceptive sometimes.

"No," he said. Indeed, Earl Grey was the best to have after a stressing day. Just inhaling the aroma of it when Suzaku put the steaming cup before him was enough to relax his wrecked nerves. "It's splendid. I just thought you would prefer some Oolong tea."

"It's better to have Earl Grey to accompany plum pudding," Suzaku explained and Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise at that. Plum pudding was his favorite dessert but it was not yet the right season for plums to ripe. Yet when he saw the content of the blue and white china presented to him, his eyes twinkled in childish happiness.

"Plum pudding," he said.

"Yes, Lelouch, sweetheart, you're right," Suzaku said with mock considerateness. "You have a talent for stating the obvious, it seems."

A glare was the only thing Lelouch give to Suzaku, but his glare was as effective as butter against stone. Upon receiving such scowl, Suzaku merely laughed and took his seat, seemingly unaffected, and Lelouch could not decide if it was a good or bad thing. He was a Royal Prince and it was disheartening to know that his glare could be rendered ineffective on anyone. When he considered the person in question was his own spouse, maybe it was excusable. Yet when he thought about his Suzaku and fully realized what an idiot the other was, he felt it was really unjust that his trademarked glare which could make a cunning terrorist run for his money was plainly vain in front of Suzaku's smile.

"I simply learned from the best," Lelouch said with fake haughtiness as his fingers reached for the silver spoon.

"Are you trying to say that I too have a tendency to state the obvious?" Suzaku retorted back with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Lelouch pretended to take his time thinking while his tongue was swirling to sweep that sweet delicacy from his spoon. "No, I'm trying to say that you are an idiot."

"You still love me nonetheless," Suzaku said.

"Whoever said I should not love you?" Lelouch smirked naughtily. "After all, you're a pretty good catch for an idiot."

That time Suzaku outwardly chuckled. "Guess I should be honored that His Highness deems me so worthy after all…"

"For an idiot," Lelouch reminded though his voice did not carry any malice within it.

"For an idiot, yes," Suzaku easily agreed. "Cannot forget that crucial bit."

Lelouch chuckled and stared openly at his Suzaku. He had tanned a bit, he noted wistfully. And his face seemed a bit rough. Maybe it was the climate in India that did that to him.

"So how was your mission there?" he asked with a hint of apprehension in his voice that he knew Suzaku would never miss. "Did you... get hurt in you mission?"

A loving smile that Suzaku threw to his direction expelled any anxiety that he might feel in his heart. And it was nothing but relief that he felt when Suzaku answered his question.

"I'm fine, I did not get hurt," Suzaku said. "It was only a mission to maintain the peace after the two largest factions there agreed on cease fire. It was not like I was going into full war."

"Oh…" he said. He knew it was only a simple peace keeping mission but he could not help feeling worried. He knew that being in military was dangerous, no matter what kind of mission they did. And even though Lelouch felt like he was starting to act paranoid, he could not help but worrying his lower lip every time he watched the news or hear the daily report from those served under him regarding the whereabouts of the troops where his Suzaku was joining in.

"Did you worry about me?" Suzaku asked with a somewhat amused smile.

"I… well, obviously, I did," he admitted. There was no use trying to lie or hide things from his husband. "Even though you said it was only a harmless mission, I still felt worried."

There was a rustle sound of fabrics and the next thing he saw was his Suzaku kneeling in front of his chair. A genial smile was planted on his dear Suzaku's face. A hand rose up to caress his cheek before a single chaste kiss was dropped against his lips.

Drawing back, Suzaku tilted his face, "Sorry, ne?"

And just like how it always was, Lelouch found himself unable to deny that pair of eyes. With a sigh, he smiled.

"Just make sure to drop a phone call once in a while when you're doing mission, idiot," he said, ruffling Suzaku's head affectionately. "You still have that habit of forgetting to call me whenever you're too busy with your military things. If not for the occasional news I got from my brother, I wouldn't have possibly known your condition during those weeks you spent away from home."

Suzaku cringed, "Sorry…"

Lelouch looked at the face of his Suzaku, still kneeling down before him, and knew that his husband did indeed feel sorry. And just like that, suddenly those days he spent worrying over him did not matter anymore. Suzaku was safe and sound, and it was the only thing important.

"It's… fine, I think. You're back home and safe so nothing else matters," he said. Cupping Suzaku's face, he kissed his forehead briefly before he chuckled. "At least it was only a month instead of several years like what you did back then."

Remembering those years back then when he was torn with his yearning and confusion, Lelouch could still feel a twinge of pain in his heart. In the end, everything indeed turned out well. It was probably more than just well, he thought as his gaze landed on the ring he now wore proudly on his finger, but still, the memory of those days which constituted into years was enough to force bitterness from the depth of his heart.

Yet amidst the bitterness, Lelouch also felt thankful. It did not trouble him that much when Suzaku was away from him for he knew his Suzaku would never really leave him. He knew that Suzaku loved him. And it was enough, for him it was enough.

"The most important thing is that you're back safely," he said, smiling. "And it's enough."

Suzaku stared at him with unreadable emotion flickering across his eyes. And under his gaze, Lelouch observed how Suzaku reached inside his breast pocket. When his dear husband took his hand out of his pocket, a single white flower was within his gentle grasp.

"I cheated this time," Suzaku said as he fastened that flower on Lelouch's hair. "I picked this flower from the garden in front of the Palace. I was so ecstatic when Schneizel told me I could get back home that I flied here without taking any flower with me."

Lelouch raised his hand. His fingers gently caressed the petals of that flower that Suzaku had put amidst his tresses of black hair. The flower felt soft under his touch. And suddenly there was warmth enveloping his hand, gentle and comforting warmth.

Suzaku held his hands, both of them, and brought them to his lips to bestow a kiss against those knuckles.

"I can be pretty stupid sometimes," Suzaku said wistfully. "I know I have caused you many heartaches and… well, those years are for example. But… I love you, and I want to make you happy, though sometimes I failed. I'm sorry. I'm often forgetful, and sometimes I can be pretty dense, so… I'm sorry…"

Those emerald eyes looked up at him with silent apprehension and Lelouch smiled.

"Suzaku, I've known you for years," he said. "I already know how dense you can be yet I still love you. So quit with that apology and all, there's nothing to be forgiven of and you're not suited to talk sensible things like that."

Suzaku smiled. "Sometimes I wonder why you can so easily forgive me."

Lelouch smiled back as he freed his hands from Suzaku's gentle clasp and circled them around his husband's heck. "Just like how sometimes I wonder why I love you so much."

"Love is sometimes irrational. You said so yourself," Suzaku commented as he drew his face closer to Lelouch.

"True," Lelouch said after a moment of pretended deliberation. "But it's fun sometimes to become irrational."

There was no conversation commenced between the two of them afterward as a kiss sealed their lips together. And for once Lelouch put little to no heed that his tea might be cooling off on the table. His tea break was indeed something he considered important during his days. Yet for that day, he was willing to reject the enjoyment that a cup of hot tea might give him, for the love that his Suzaku surely would give him.

Two weeks after that day, His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku was called to guard a diplomatic envoy of The Holy Empire of Britannia to Brussels. Lelouch accompanied him until he boarded the ship. He sent his husband off with a kiss, a prayer, and love so great everyone present could feel it hanging in the air. And during the night of that day, when Lelouch was just about to go to bed, a phone call came to him.

He picked the phone up, and greeting him from the other end of the line was the cheerful voice of his dear husband whom he had just sent off earlier that day.

"I don't forget to call you this time," Suzaku said. "I love you, Lelouch."

Lelouch vi Britannia had a very beautiful smile on his face as he cradled the phone close to his face. Across the miles that separated them, he chuckled, for once glad that Suzaku would not be able to see his blush through the phone connection.

And said, "I love you too, Suzaku."

- end –

(A/N: OK, so the sap continues. We apologized to those with high sugar level if we somehow have caused you problem with the needlessly added sugary sweet sap in this story. Thank you for reading, and if you have any comment about this story, please do tell us. There will be more snapshots to come, and we don't know if you would think of it as a good thing or a bad thing but we do hope that we will see you in the following installments. Until then, we bid you adieu.)


	3. Chapter 3

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**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** For the umpteenth time in our life we are forced to admit that neither of the characters present in this story is ours.

**Warning:** …established homosexual relationship? Does that thing need to be warned about?

*******

**Instalment 3 – **In the Deepest of the Night

February, Britannia Mainland, 2021 a.t.b

It was not raining that night. No thunder too, not even a stir of wind. Everything felt so calm, so deceivingly calm. The perfectly silent night belied the somewhat chaotic events as of late. And Lelouch vi Britannia knew that somewhere, during that seemingly peaceful night, the terrorists that rebelled against the Empire were still wrecking havoc among people.

Lelouch tightened his lips grimly. His eyes gazed at the grand clock on the far wall on his right. A little before 1 a.m., and Suzaku was still not home yet. Though he could not blame him for that, not when he considered how dreadful the situation in their beloved country at the moment was. Not when he considered just how devoted Suzaku was in his duty to protect the country, to protect him.

His grip on his mug tightened. The hot cocoa contained within that porcelain mug had somehow grown cold, but Lelouch did not find the courage to leave his seat and refill his cup. He would stay there all night if needed, stay ardently on that grand velvet armchair in his private room with the phone just within his reach. That way he would know if the phone were to ring, if some news should come, if his Suzaku called him, or worse…

Lelouch shook his head slightly, trying to diminish such thought from his mind. It would do no good to let his imagination run wild. The Empire was facing a great peril and as a royal prince, he was supposed to use his mind to help his beloved country, not for thinking such ridiculous thoughts.

Recent advances from the European Union had somehow made The Holy Empire of Britannia experience hard times. Coupled with the economic recession and some natural disasters that just happened to strike them nearly constantly that year somehow put the people in unrest. Before long, some rebellious factions began to form. They grew greater in number as each passing days, spawning fright in the land, and terrorizing the nobles and royalties, blaming them for all the bad things happened. They gained force, lots of force, and they also gained the support from the European Union. It was plain simple, Lelouch thought grimly, what better method was there to destroy a nation than to destroy it from within?

He had to admit it was a clever plan. Stir some mistrust within people, and they would willingly destroy their own homeland. Those who are poor would be united in envy and those who are rich would be united in fear. Envy was really one of the major sins, and he had no hard time imagining how easy it was for those slick tongued men from EU to manipulate the people into rebelling against the monarchy that had sustained their life ever since their birth.

The sound of bells rang in the night, telling Lelouch that it was already one o'clock in the morning. The merry sound of those bells somehow seemed so in contrast with his feeling. If he did not have that much self preservation in him, Lelouch would surely have found himself glaring dagger at the innocent clock which was still emitting those overly cheerful sound. But amidst the regal sound of those bells chiming, he could hear another sound.

The phone was ringing.

Quickly, he snatched the phone. It was his private line, and only few selected individuals could reach him via the phone line. But Lelouch knew, without having to guess, who might be calling him at that moment.

"Suzaku," he whispered, a bit fearfully. "It's you, right?"

For a moment, there was silence. Then a voice came to him.

"Lelouch," he heard Suzaku's voice calling his name and Lelouch released the breath he did not realize he was holding. "You haven't slept?"

"How can I sleep when you're…" he stopped. His hand trembled in the dark. He knew that. "I just cannot sleep…"

Lelouch heard a weary sigh coming from the other end of connection. It made something in his heart sank. Suzaku was not suited to sigh like that, he thought. Suzaku was suited to smile, to laugh, to do so many idiotic things that would put him into trouble yet never managed to get him down. But recent situations did not allow him much time to laugh, to do stupid things. His Lordship Colonel Kururugi Suzaku was needed as a capable military official to fight the rebels, to protect the nation, to win the war.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"I'm alright," Suzaku answered. "I got involved in some cross fire, but I'm alright."

"How about…" Lelouch tried to speak but found his voice caught in his throat.

"I'm sorry, Lelouch," Suzaku said with remorse so great Lelouch could feel tears in his tone even though his voice remained steady. "The Lamperouge has fallen."

When Lelouch heard the news, his first reaction was to freeze in shock before grief overcame him. Another family had fallen into the hands of those rebels. But the Lamperouges were not just another family. They were his mother's kin. They were not even nobles, just a regular family which found their great fortune in the research and technology department. Those rebels only targeted them because they knew that the Empress came from that family. Just how stupid of a reason was that to slaughter a family? Just how stupid of a reason was that to kill some innocents?

Lelouch bit his lower lip. He could not cry. If he cried, Suzaku would feel even worse. He had to be strong for Suzaku. He had to.

"Lelouch," Suzaku called him again. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I've failed you."

"No, Suzaku," he said without hesitation. "You never failed me. Don't say that."

"Mother…"

"Mother is a strong woman," he finished Suzaku's sentence. "This is… a terrible blow. But you are safe, right? And don't I always say that the most important thing is that you are safe? Therefore… don't trouble yourself over this… I know you've done your best…"

He could hear a choked snort from the other end of the connection. "I could have done better."

"We all could have done better," he corrected. "I should have been able to predict it. I should have been able to prevent it. If only I was a bit quicker in noticing their plan. If only I looked into their attack pattern more closely from the start, I would have…"

He stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. "We could have done more but the fact is that we could not. And I believe you have done your best, so don't blame yourself."

The silence that followed afterward made him unconsciously tighten his fingers around the phone cord in apprehension. Suzaku was someone with a great sense of duty and he admired his husband for that. But it would also mean that Suzaku tended to shoulder the blame himself whenever something bad happened. He would take the blame and the pain, keeping it within himself as he strived to set things right again.

"Suzaku…" he almost whimpered. "Please, don't blame yourself…"

"They were annihilated, Lelouch," Suzaku said. "All of them. Those terrorists even burnt the house down. It feels like hell here."

"But you captured them, right?" Lelouch tried to see the bright side of the whole situation. "You caught those rebels, and you will put justice onto them. We could not prevent this, but we could prevent many families from facing the same tragedy. Really, don't be so pessimistic. Everything will be well and it's not like this is the end of the world."

Lelouch could faintly hear the sound of shouting and explosion in the background as Suzaku kept his silence. He began to worry. Suzaku had overworked himself as of late, and the event was surely a big blow to him. He was worried about his husband's well being, both physically and mentally.

A soft chuckle came to his hearing and Suzaku's voice told him, "It's almost ironic."

"What?" he asked.

"You should have been the one devastated and I should have been the one comforting you, but in reality it appears to be otherwise," Suzaku said with a hint of good humor in his voice. "Your Suzaku is really pathetic, ne?"

Hearing that faint hint of smile in Suzaku's voice was enough to make a relieved feeling settled in his heart. He cradled the phone close, smiling thin though the hint of tears still visible in his eyes.

"My Suzaku might be pathetic but I love him," he said. "And my Suzaku might be pathetic but he's my everything. So don't so anything rash, okay? You have done your best and you must be tired. Don't keep pushing yourself, Suzaku, if you are to fall, what will become of me?"

"I'm sorry," Suzaku said. "For making you so worried. I assure you that I'm perfectly alright, though… well, I got some scratches, but…"

"Suzaku, last time you said you got scratches, they turned out so deep that you had to get some stitches."

"This time they are really just some scratches," Suzaku hastily assured him. "Honest."

Lelouch frowned, but the smile on his lips persisted. "If I know you're lying, there would be very terrible consequences waiting for you."

"Yeah…" Suzaku chuckled. "Listen, I will stay here for a bit longer. Sir Jeremiah is still exploring the perimeter, and I will wait for him. Once we declare the situation is perfectly under control, I'll get home, okay, so you can go to sleep now. I won't…"

He never knew what Suzaku would not do, for at that very moment, his husband suddenly stopped his talk. Following the cut off sentence were some sounds of commotion and rushed yelling in the background. He could not recognize the voice, but whoever it was seemed to be really desperate. And Lelouch bit his lip. His worries came back, hitting him full force. He did not know what happened. Could it be possible that they were under sudden attack? Was his Suzaku hurt? Why did he not continue his words? Why did he suddenly fell silent?

"Suzaku…?" he called. No answer came to him and panic started to creep into every fiber of his body. What if indeed his Suzaku was attacked because his attention was divided when he was calling him. What if…

"Suzaku, are you still there?" he called with his voice getting louder and his heartbeat getting more frantic. Fear started to overwhelm him. What if…

"Suzaku!" he almost yelled. Lelouch felt like he could weep right then and there. Why had there been no response? Why had Suzaku not answered?

A rustling sound was heard before Suzaku's voice, albeit a bit rushed, came into his hearing again.

"Lelouch…"

That sound of his name being voiced out with Suzaku's voice was the one that made the tears he had been holding up finally spilled. He could feel the warm paths of his tears against his cheeks. He was so relieved until he choked on his sob.

"Don't scare me like that!" he said to the phone. "Don't scare me like that, damn you… I thought you were attacked or something…"

"I'm sorry…" Suzaku hastily said. "Don't cry, Lelouch, please. I'm sorry. It's my fault. Please don't worry, I'm okay. Don't cry…"

He swallowed his cries, feeling a bit stupid for breaking down crying like that. "Why did you not answer my calling earlier?"

"I'm sorry, Sir Jeremiah was calling me. Listen to me, I have some great news for you," Suzaku said. His voice, strangely, held a tint of unveiled happiness in it. "There's apparently a survivor, Lelouch. We found someone who escaped the cruel annihilation. There's a living soul here, Lelouch."

He sat up straight in his chair, eyes widened. "A survivor? A member of the Lamperouge family?"

Suzaku's laugh sounded, for once that night, so cheerful. "Yes, sweetheart. He's hurt terribly and I think tonight's event is really too much for a child his age to bear, but…"

"A child?" Lelouch cut Suzaku's speech off.

"Yes, a child. A boy, to be more exact, and I presume he's not older than three years old," Suzaku answered. "Sir Jeremiah and I are taking him now. Could you please summon the Royal Physician to look after this child?"

"Yes, of course I…" he started, and then Suzaku's words began sinking in. "You are taking him here?"

"Of course," Suzaku said as if it was the most plausible thing in the world, and Lelouch had no hard time imagining that his husband surely had than innocent twinkling in his eyes as he said that. "I could not possibly leave him there."

Lelouch gaped for a while before he released a sigh. Suzaku would really never change, he thought with a resigned smile. He would always act as what his mind told him at the moment. People sometimes dub him as rash or impulsive, but Lelouch knew that those things only showed Suzaku's honesty, and maybe, he was forced to admit, also his 'naïveté'.

"Usually people would think to bring the injured to a hospital instead of their own house," he remarked. "But I will never close my gate off to people in need. Bring him here, I'll prepare everything."

"You are really the best person I might ask for a spouse, Lelouch vi Britannia," Suzaku said. "I'm so grateful that I can marry you."

"Mmh, yes," he said, rousing up from his seat. "Save that for next time I see you, then you can flatter me all you want. For now, please do excuse me for I have to prepare many things for your hasty late midnight visit, Lord Kururugi."

"Much obliged," Suzaku said good-naturedly that Lelouch could not help smiling at. "I love you, Lelouch."

"I love you too," he remarked with so much feeling in those words.

The phone connection was cut off then, and Lelouch vi Britannia was once again left in that silent night alone. But instead of an anxious expression, there was a determined glint in his eyes. And his lips held a hopeful smile as he roused his household to prepare everything for the coming of his lord and husband. He prepared the guest room, the closest to his very own room. He called the royal physician, notifying him how urgent the matter was. And he told his mother, with tears in his eyes and smile on his lips, that her family was not entirely perished. No, Suzaku had saved one little child from that cruel carnage, and he would make sure that the child would see sunshine again.

Less than half an hour afterward, a commotion reached the gate of the palace. Lelouch was prepared when they opened the front grand doors. He was prepared to see his Suzaku marching in proudly even though there were traces of ashes and blood on his white uniform. But he was not prepared to see how his loyal palace guard, Sir Jeremiah Gottwald, entering the palace with a shivering bundle in his arms, stained with blood.

It took a moment for him to realize that within those tattered cloths bundled up within Sir Jeremiah's arms was a child. A little child who, when he peeked into the bundle as he ushered them all to the room he had prepared, seemed to be unconscious and in dire need of medical attention. Seeing his condition, Lelouch felt a surge of uncertainty coming to him. What if they could not safe the child, he thought gravely. What if even after everything, every attempt they did, they still could not safe him?

Suzaku's hand came resting on his shoulder when those thoughts assaulted him and his husband's sure voice told him firmly, "We'll safe him."

With those words, he braced himself and banished any grave thoughts from his mind. He believed in Suzaku and if Suzaku said they would safe that little child, then they would surely safe him.

It was almost a miracle, the royal physician said to them afterward, that the child's condition was apparently not as bad as he looked. He had inhaled much smoke, and he got some severe cuts and bruises. But else than a concussion and a broken arm, the little child did not have any life threatening wound. He would surely be fine given time and right medical treatment, the physicians assured them with a smile, it was a wonder how great the endurance of a little child could be.

The declaration from the physician got Lelouch release a relieved breath. They would safe him. They would surely safe that little child who had managed to ensnare his heart ever since the first moment he laid his eyes on him. And he was sure about that, there was no more doubt in his heart.

"Do you know about his name?" he inquired Suzaku carefully. Dawn had broken and the child was still sleeping in the bed he had designated for him. Cleaned up and properly tended to, the child could very well be asleep if one were to ignore how there was some I.V. drip injecting drugs into that slim arm and there were bandages on several parts of his body.

"I do not know," Suzaku said from his position, hovering above the head of that oversized bed. At that moment there were only the two of them in that room accompanying the still sleeping child. "But Sir Jeremiah said he was very probably the youngest son of the Lamperouge couple, named Rolo. There is no other child around his age so I think we can be sure it is his name."

"Rolo…" Lelouch tasted the name in his tongue. He was sitting on the bed, closely watching over the sleeping child, Rolo Lamperouge. "He surely must have seen something really terrible. A mere child like him should not have seen that kind of scene."

For a moment, they were silent as they stared at that poor child who had seen much more that what a kid his age should be seeing.

"Is there no other survivor?" Lelouch asked.

Suzaku sighed forlornly. "No, and I'm pretty sure about that. Rolo is only safe because his mother protected him. Sir Jeremiah was the first to see her cooling corpse blocking something which we later recognized as a hidden door. We then found Rolo within the sealed room, weak from the smoke but very much alive. He was nearly hysterical and we were so afraid he would hurt himself more, not so surprising considering what he had been through."

"Poor child. He is surely traumatized by the event," Lelouch said as his hand gently swept some hair from Rolo's closed eyes. "What will become of him after this, Suzaku?"

"The Lamperouge is pretty much annihilated so it will be hard to decide who will take care of him," Suzaku answered bitterly. "It's possible that they would put him in an orphanage for a while before they could decide who shall be his protector. I think it would be difficult, though. In this time of trouble, no one would take a great liking on the idea of bringing an injured and traumatic little boy into their house."

"But that's terrible," he exclaimed with wide, terrified eyes. "He had gone through so much when he's still so young… a child like him deserves happiness. He deserves to be able to laugh again."

Some rustling sound alerted him that Suzaku was moving from his position. Soon, a weight settled on the bed beside him and Suzaku's arm gently circled around his shoulders. Wearily he dropped his head onto that strong shoulder, enjoying the warmth and the sense of safety the simple act offered him.

"Lelouch," Suzaku began with a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. "We have been married for nearly three years and during those years I feel so happy. I know I can be so selfish with you sometimes, so please excuse me because this time I want to ask yet another selfish thing from you."

He raised his face a bit so he could look into Suzaku's eyes directly, telling him without words that he was listening.

"I want us to take him," Suzaku said.

His eyes widened at that. "To take… Rolo…?"

"Yes," Suzaku said, dropping a kiss to his forehead. "To take him into our family. To make him our child."

"But I don't…" he tried to say. "Suzaku, don't get me wrong. I love Rolo, I really do, even though I just saw him a moment ago I can feel that I love this child. I want to help him. But I cannot… I do not know how to raise a child… I do not know what I should do if we are to take him into our household…"

He could see Suzaku smiling as his hands moved to cup his face. "You said it yourself. You love him, so that's what you should do. We will love him, Lelouch, and we will help him by that. We might not know anything about raising a child but I do believe that we know about love. Or at least I know about love because you have taught me that, Lelouch."

Suzaku gave his lips a slight peck before he averted his eyes to Rolo. He was smiling as he gently put his hand against that sleeping child's forehead.

"He deserves some loving," Suzaku said. "And I know we can give that to him. Am I right, Lelouch?"

That smile, Lelouch thought, always managed to brighten his heart. And so when he was faced with Suzaku's confident smile, he too had a smile on his face. He did not know if they could be parents to some child who came with such heavy baggage like Rolo. They were just two men of twenty after all, scantly old enough not to be called children themselves. But when Suzaku gave him that smile, he knew that no matter what, they would try and they would surely try their best.

"Yes," he finally voiced out his agreement. "Yes, Suzaku, he deserves some loving. And yes, we can give him that."

Moving his body a bit forward, he kissed Suzaku soundly on his lips. Afterward, with a smile, he also dropped a kiss on that cheek of Rolo Lamperouge, their new son. How sweet those words sounded, he thought fondly, their son.

"Get well soon, sweetheart," he whispered against that smooth skin. "We love you."

When he got up and felt Suzaku embracing him from behind as they watched their sleeping son, somehow, Lelouch knew that they would surely prevail. No matter how long it would take, they would surely help Rolo until he could laugh again in happiness. They would do that. They could do that.

- end -

(A/N: another installment to 'Pure Hearted Love' and believe us, there will be more installments coming. We just could not let go of this universe, no matter how hopeless that makes us sound. WE hope you enjoy this installment, though there is not much sap this time. Reviews, of course, would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading and it is our hope to see you again in the following installments.)


	4. Chapter 4

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**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** Not ours, still.

**Warning:** Snapshots should be synonymous with sap. And for this installment, please proceed with extra caution of Lelouch's tsundere-blushing-uke-bride demeanor.

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**Instalment 4 – **A Day on June

June, Britannia mainland, 2018 a.t.b.

For the rest of his life, Lelouch vi Britannia would remember that day, the third day of June, 2018 a.t.b. as a memorable day for him, not only because on that day he uttered his marriage vow but also because on that day, he suffered the worst anxiety attack he ever experienced.

His mother had told him that it was perfectly reasonable to get nervous on his wedding day. And Lelouch knew that whatever his mother said was surely the truth. But there was a major difference between mere nervousness and a downright panic attack. Considering from the fact that he almost could not breathe when he was about to walk the aisle to the altar, Lelouch doubted what he experienced was simply pre-wedding anxiety. Though he also suspected the corset also played a part on that.

Yet despite his anxieties, the day progressed nicely, or as nice as it could possibly be without any major incident. Sure, he nearly broke down in panic the moment he realized the shade of his bouquet did not really match the wreath on his head but his mother managed to calm him down and solved the problem with the aide of some ribbons. His anxiety did not end there. During the time he spoke up his vow, he almost, _almost_, added another 'ru' to Suzaku's family name. Thankfully, he avoided that. And though he was a good dancer, Lelouch was forced to admit he never danced in a flowing wedding dress and thus, he almost slipped during his wedding dance. He was forever grateful of Suzaku's reflex as his husband somehow managed to catch him before he fell and pressed him closer to his chest.

That, of course, prompted yet another blush to his cheeks.

The blush was another point that made him so very aware of his anxiety throughout the day. He hated to look like an air-headed maiden on his wedding day, but the damn blush just would not disappear. He got many teasing remarks due to that, and Suzaku's response to the teasing, by either kissing his cheek or hugging his waist, all along chuckling happily, was not helping at all. Though he was also forced to admit that he enjoyed the attention his Suzaku was giving him throughout the day, as if his newfound husband wanted to say 'mine, mine, forever ever mine' to all the world with his sweet and caring gestures.

Lelouch vi Britannia smiled as he recalled those somewhat embarrassing yet endearing events of his wedding. Yes, he was still a vi Britannia even after his wedding. Both his father and father-in-law had fought hard and tough about the whole last name issue. His father had refused to let him shed his last name to embrace Suzaku's one. And Kururugi Genbu had flatly refused to let Suzaku be named as a vi Britannia since from the contract he signed in the past, Lelouch was supposed to be the bride in the whole marriage ordeal. The fight between those two great nation leaders almost felt comical but thankfully, Marianne vi Britannia still possessed the bit of intelligence and rationality in her. It was his mother that ended the fight with the resolution that both Suzaku and he should keep their respective last name intact even after their marriage, and that managed to shut both his father and father-in-law up.

Truthfully, Lelouch himself was more than ready to change his last name into Kururugi, he was Suzaku's spouse now after all. And Suzaku too had said to him that he did not mind if he should change his name into vi Britannia, considering that Lelouch's family was of higher status than him, so it was reasonable should he take after his last name instead. It was just their fathers being too prideful to give up a fight. It was lucky for him that his mother was still very well capable of ending any stupid fight.

And speaking about his mother, Lelouch mused as he glanced clandestinely to the closed door of his sleeping quarter, she was supposed to come soon. And, like what seemed to happen incessantly that day, Lelouch felt really anxious over the prospect of his mother visiting him that night, because that night was after all…

…well…

…his wedding night.

Feeling the blush threatened to take over his whole face again, Lelouch coughed discreetly. Night had fallen for quite some time and once the sun set, Lelouch had been ushered from the wedding festivities to, like what his giggling attendants said to him, prepare himself for his husband's visit.

Lelouch vi Britannia might be a virgin, since of course he had to preserve his chastity for his marriage bed, but he had enough knowledge on what happened behind the closed bedroom doors at night. His knowledge did not lessen his anxieties, though. Rather, it only made it grow. And as his attendants prepared him and his room to receive Suzaku's visit, Lelouch could not keep his heart calm. It beat wildly until he almost thought everyone present surely heard it.

He clenched his robe on his lap, eyes never leaving the closed doors. At the moment he was alone, his attendants had left him to his privacy after they prepared his bath (scented with roses), made his bed (with scattered rose petals on the bed sheets), and helped him dress (into a lavender colored silk robe that suspiciously smelled like roses). As the custom dictated, his mother would come first for 'the talk' before he could receive Suzaku. And so, when Lelouch heard the knock on the door, he took a breath to calm himself down and said.

"Please do enter."

The doors opened and admitted the graceful form of Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne walking into the room. Her dress made a soft rustling sound as she seated herself beside her son on the bed. And the smile on her face was so bright that Lelouch felt his heart somewhat calmed down by that.

"My son," his mother said to him as she kissed his cheek tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, mother," he said as his automatic response. His mother's eyebrow rose at that, a sure sign that she was not buying that, and Lelouch gulped as he corrected his words. "Maybe I'm a bit tired… and nervous…"

His mother chuckled at that. "It's normal to feel nervous on your wedding night. I remember how I felt during that fateful day I took your father's, His Majesty's, hands. I seem to recall I almost misspelled his name during the vow."

Lelouch head snapped up. "Eh?"

"Charles Leonard Albert Davis di Britannia," Marianne sighed forlornly. "And I almost said his name as Charles Leonard Davis Albert di Britannia."

Lelouch smiled as he recalled his own episode on the altar, "I almost added another 'ru' to Suzaku's family name."

"My poor Lelouch," Marianne said as she ruffled Lelouch's head tenderly. "It seems you somehow inherit my bad luck in this aspect."

The feeling of his mother's hand smoothing his hair somehow made Lelouch felt nostalgic. It forced him onto recalling his childhood days when his mother would ran her graceful fingers amidst his hair as she put him to sleep. He recalled the days long past when his mother's hands were the last thing he felt before he went to sleep and the first he felt when he woke up. He recalled the days long past when his mother's hands were always the ones calming him when he was afraid, the ones soothing his pain when he was hurt, the ones comforting him when he needed it.

He almost could not believe it when he thought that years had indeed passed and now, he could no longer afford to be pampered by his mother like a little child anymore. He had grown up, from a boy to a man, from a child to an adult. And that day marked the time when he left his family to start his own.

"I remember when I first have you in my arms, Lelouch," his mother wistfully said to him, letting him know that he was not the only one feeling nostalgic. "You were so little back then, but look at you now, already grown up to be a fine young man. Today I even saw you walking down to the altar to vow yourself to the man of your life. I almost could not believe it when I saw you in the church earlier, how you have grown, Lelouch. And I am pleased to say that you have grown magnificently. You are truly my pride."

Her Highness Empress Marianne stopped for a moment before she continued her speech.

"Today is your wedding day," she began carefully and from her tone, Lelouch somehow knew what would come next. He gulped. His anxiety suddenly flared back to life again. "And tonight is your wedding night."

He took a deep, calming breath. "I am aware of that, mother."

"The tradition decrees that on such night, I should give you some… talk before your dear husband visit you about what would happen during the aforementioned visitation," Marianne said, an amused smile played on her lips. "Though I fail to understand why I should abide said tradition, considering the fact that we do have quite some differences in our bodies. Maybe I should send for your father instead."

Lelouch gaped for a moment after hearing his mother's casually spoken words before an exasperated sigh of "Mother!" escaped his lips.

"Calm yourself down, Lelouch," Marianne said with a chuckle. "I still have enough common sense in me to know that it would be a very bad idea to give the task of explaining the nature of consummation of marriage onto Charles' hands."

Lelouch stared in hopeless resignation at his mother. "Honestly, mother, I would love to share your humor in any other time but please, not at the moment…"

"I only tried to lighten your moods," Marianne said. "It would not do if you are so tense in your wedding night."

"Sadly it failed," Lelouch said stiffly.

"Oh, Lelouch…" his mother sighed. "You should not be so overwrought. Your wedding night is something you should… appreciate, for lack of better word. And speaking about your wedding night, now here we come to the hard part. You see, sweetheart, this night, you will receive your husband and when he does see you, he would expect you to… be aware of several things."

"I know what is to happen, mother," Lelouch said. Then, looking at his mother's slightly frowning face, he amended. "I mean, technically I know," he said before he added, with a softer, nearly soundless voice. "I read books…"

The amused smile on Marianne's lips grew somewhat wider, and she even had to cover her lips when a chuckle was forced out of her.

"I do not know if I should feel grateful that my son is apparently so well-prepared for his wedding or if I should feel offended knowing that he researched homosexual sex activities in books."

Lelouch bit his lower lip. How his mother could smile amusedly like that was lost to him. But the realization that her mother could smile like that about the whole ordeal somehow made him calm down a bit. Maybe indeed, there was nothing to be anxious of, he mused, trying hard to convince himself. A wedding night was a normal occurrence, he tried to reason, every couple would consummate their relationship at a certain point. So it was no big deal that Suzaku and he would also… and he loved Suzaku, really, so he should be more than ready to give all of his own to him. After all, he had already vowed it, already taken Suzaku as his rightful spouse until death do them part. So…

A knock on the door was heard and any reassuring thought Lelouch had in him vanished into thin air, only to be replaced by the double amount of dread and anxiety. Staring at the door, his mother's somewhat joyful remark that it had to be Suzaku knocking was lost to his suddenly ringing ears. His mind went completely blank for some seconds under the extent of his nervousness and when he finally came back to his senses, he watched that his mother had fled to the door to open it.

Before he could tell his mother to wait—he needed some time to collect himself, after all—he saw how Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne opened the door. And behind the opened door, he could see Kururugi Suzaku, his recently wedded husband, standing with a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Good evening, mother," Suzaku greeted her. "May I… be allowed to see Lelouch?"

"Good evening, Suzaku," Marianne replied as she ushered the young man inside. "Lelouch and I have been eagerly waiting for your arrival, to tell the truth. Lelouch, would you kindly greet your husband?"

Lelouch, still sat precariously on his bed, was torn between telling his mother that he did not exactly wait for Suzaku's arrival 'eagerly' like what she just said and telling Suzaku his greeting followed by a simple request if maybe he would be allowed some alone time to calm his heartbeat. But nothing escaped his lips. He was experiencing what people might dub as frozen stiff by apprehension _literally_. The tension was so much, but amidst all those, he still could feel a gentle touch landing on his shoulder, and a bouquet of roses landing on his lap.

Suzaku looked down at him, all gentle eyes and concerned smile, as he said. "Um… good evening, Your Highness…"

He lowered his face. "Good evening… Milord…"

"A note from your dear mother, if you please," Marianne commented, watching over the two. "Formality behind closed bedroom doors is way too overrated."

Lelouch had to smile at that and Suzaku had even chuckled. It almost felt ridiculous how they seemed so tense around each other. He had known Suzaku for years, had accepted to be his consort, had uttered his vow just that day. People would think it was past the time for being nervous.

He stared right into Suzaku's eyes and right then, it was not so hard to smile. "Thank you for the roses, they are lovely."

Suzaku smiled back. "I'm glad then."

From her position beside the doors, Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne smiled fondly at her son and son-in-law. Seeing that the two were somehow more relaxed at that moment, she dared to think that her presence was not needed anymore in the room. So she announced her retreat, bidding her two dearest sons good night. And as she closed the doors behind her, she could only pray that they both would find happiness in their marriage life.

With a slight frown, she also added in her heart a prayer so that Lelouch would not die of embarrassment in the middle of the act.

Watching the door closed, barring him from seeing the view of his mother, Lelouch then turned his gaze to the bouquet of roses on his lap. A soft rustling sound and the feel of weight settling on his side let him know that Suzaku was joining him on the bed, their bed. And certainly, it was not so strange that his heart began speeding up again.

"Nervous?" Suzaku asked.

He snorted. "You can say that…"

He saw, felt, Suzaku's hand finding his. Their fingers interlocked and he could see the ring he wore on his ring finger. He smiled. At least that time it was a real ring with real diamond and all. He still could not decide whether to be amused or annoyed whenever he recalled that certain episode of Suzaku proposing to him with a fake ring in front of the entire school.

"Something funny?" Suzaku inquired curiously. He looked up, stared right into Suzaku's eyes.

"I just remember that time when you proposed to me," he answered. "I bet Milly still has the copy of that recording. I bet she's selling copies to people and getting good fortune from it."

Suzaku chuckled. "That's really one day to remember, when I finally had you say yes to my proposal."

Lelouch also chuckled a little, a chuckle that soon died down when he felt Suzaku's fingers, the ones not currently entwined with his, tracing his jaw line before they landed on his lips. Suzaku's eyes were bright; they were shining a brilliant shade of green. Maybe it was due to the lighting of the room, Lelouch thought as he watched his husband's face coming closer to his own, but Suzaku's eyes really did seem so vibrant that night.

But surely, it was not because of the lighting that Suzaku's lips also felt somewhat softer as they kissed his briefly, gently, lovingly, afterward.

"My consort, His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia," Suzaku said softly with a smile after he ended the kiss. "Guess I should get accustomed to associate those words with you, ne?"

"You should, since you will be with me until death do us part, remember?" he said. "We're… married now… after all..."

"Yeah…" Suzaku said somewhat absent-mindedly. Lelouch noticed how Suzaku had some creases on his forehead, as sign that he was thinking hard. Then he saw his Suzaku letting out a sigh and looked at him with half-amused, half-exasperated expression. "We are married and this is our wedding night."

He gulped. "Yes…"

"You know, this is somehow so funny, in a way," Suzaku said. "I mean… I know that you are my intended and trust me, it's been hard for me to keep myself from thinking… uh… inappropriate things about you. I love you, Lelouch, and sure… I want… to do… er… things… with you…"

He chuckled in the middle of Suzaku's jumbling sentence.

"Hey, don't laugh, you," Suzaku said good-naturedly. "I'm just saying that I really, _really_, looked forward to our wedding day, when you would finally be mine for real. But now… I guess all my energy has been spent on being anxious for the whole day I… am at loss on what to do now."

Lelouch smiled wistfully. It was somewhat nice to know that he was not the only one being victim to anxiety attack throughout the day. He grasped Suzaku's hand a bit tighter, trying to diminish all embarrassment from his voice, and looked up.

"I'm not quite sure I know what you should do since I never found myself in this kind of situation before," he said. "But… I guess I would very much like it… if you continue what you started earlier, Milord."

Suzaku's free hand cupped his cheek. "Does that mean I can kiss you again?"

"I highly think that yes, you can," he said boldly.

If he were to describe what feeling he felt that time when Suzaku cradled his face, kissed his lips, caressed his nape, Lelouch would describe it as a feeling of victory. He was feeling victorious at the realization that there was the man he loved, the man who apparently loved him back as much as he loved him, if not more. There was his husband, kissing him tenderly like he was the most lovable being on earth. Surely, he had the right to feel victorious, Lelouch thought as he felt Suzaku lowering his body to the bed. Surely, he had every right to feel victorious as Suzaku, his Suzaku, pampered him with kisses, as those lips whispered to his ears a simple yet so sweet word of love, as those brilliant emerald eyes, hovering above him, stared fixedly at him and him alone.

He raised his hand, watching how the silky sleeve of his robe slid to reveal his arm, and touched Suzaku's face, hovering close above his own. The bed sheets were soft and cool under his back, yet he could feel Suzaku, so warm, above him. And Suzaku's fingers, the ones that had previously cradled his face, were moving, tracing his neck, his bare skin, to the point where they could no longer venture for his robe was in the way.

Suzaku let his finger linger there. His eyes were serious but gentle when he asked. "Do you believe in me?"

He had to smile at that. "I doubt I would accept being your consort if I don't believe in you, Suzaku."

"Just want to make sure," Suzaku said with a faint chuckle. "I just don't want to cause you any discomfort… just relax, okay, I know what I have to do."

He frowned at that and Suzaku, for once, seemed quick in reading the situation for he hastily amended.

"I mean, technically I know," he said. Then after a moment consideration he added. "I… surf the net… for information…"

Hearing that, Lelouch almost laughed. He knew it was not quite proper for him to laugh, considering his very compromising position, considering what he was about to do, or rather, what was going to be done to him. But it was so hard and in the end he did not manage to stifle a chuckle.

"We are really hopeless," he said, still chuckling.

"Hm? What's that?" Suzaku inquired.

"No, nothing important," he answered. His chuckle had died down by then and on his lips, Lelouch knew he wore what his other siblings always described as his mischievous smirk. "Let's find out which holds the best information, the books, or the internet."

"Uh… wha…"

He did not let Suzaku finish his sentence because for once, it was him who pulled Suzaku's face closer to his, the one who initiated their kiss. Initiated was really a very proper adjective to describe the kiss, for it led to many things, oh, so many things. And Lelouch realized that his anxiety had disappeared, his nervousness forgotten, when Suzaku reached for the knot that tied his robe, when Suzaku pulled it loose, when Suzaku took it into his hand. He smiled, and he saw Suzaku smiled back at him. It was really a night to remember, he thought then, it was really their night, and he knew he would cherish that night for the rest of his life.

The piece of lavender silk that had once tied the robe of His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia slipped from the hand of His Lordship Kururugi Suzaku. The soft material fluttered down with no noise until it reached the floor, where it lay contended, making a stark contrast with the ivory colored rug that covered the floor. Yet, of course, neither of the two who at that moment were occupying the large bed noticed any of this as they had another, more important, thing to focus their attention upon, namely each other.

- end -

(A/N: …could we ask if there has indeed been anyone dying of diabetes due to reading our Snapshots? Honestly, the installments just keep getting… more and more like some cheap paperback romance novels. And the worst thing is that we actually enjoyed writing them like that. Such impudence, we know. Yet… could we still ask to hear your comment on this story? We would be much obliged if you are willing to spare a bit of your time to write your comment down so we might know your thought. Thank you for reading and Happy Easter.)


	5. Chapter 5

*******

**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** Not ours… simple, right?

**Warning:** Remember 'Pure Hearted Love'? Remember the sap? Good…

*******

**Instalment 5 – **One Afternoon

August, Britannia Mainland, 2023 a.t.b

There were sounds of footsteps and laughter echoed within the high vaulted ceiling and walls of the palace. The perpetrator of which was absolutely a five year old boy who was running down the stairs as he laughed cheerfully. Dirt was staining his previously royal blue clothes. Dirt was also staining the handles of the stairs on which the boy carelessly swept his hands. Traces of soil dirtied the splendid red carpet and caked mud was left on the boy's wake. But the boy himself seemed not to mind it. As a matter of fact, he was having fun.

Yes, Rolo Lamperouge was having fun. But Lelouch vi Britannia was not.

"Rolo!" Lelouch called exasperatedly as he tried to chase after his son. "Rolo, you have to take your bath. Don't keep running away. Rolo!"

Lelouch watched half amused half annoyed as his son only laughed harder and ran faster away from him as if trying to engage him into a game of tag. He huffed yet smiled nonetheless. It would be plain embarrassing if he lost to a five year old kid. So he ran after his son, minding not that they surely were making quite a scene: a royal prince in suits and high boots chasing after a little kid with dirt of soil all over his body. It was not the kind of scene one might expect to occur in a palace.

"Rolo!" Lelouch called when he almost managed to catch his son. Almost, because it appeared that a little kid surely possessed greater ability to dodge and manoeuvre his way better than him. "Rolo, you have to take your bath now. Look how you have made the place dirty."

"I don't wanna," Rolo said, giggling and running faster away from him.

"Rolo!" Lelouch called but his son had already disappeared around the corner. Rolling his eyes, he began chasing after the boy again, all the while cursing the amount of sugar-fuelled energy his little Rolo had in him and the architecture of the palace with so many intersected corridors in it. "Rolo, come back here or Mama will be angry at you. Rolo… oh!"

Lelouch stopped in his track as he saw that somebody else had already managed to catch his stubborn son. A certain someone in long military coat and sparkling emerald eyes he loved so much.

"Papa!" Rolo wriggled in the arms of Kururugi Suzaku to break free but his attempt was in vain. With practiced ease, Suzaku lifted the little boy up and carried him with one arm in front of his chest, not minding that his uniform might get dirtied. Smiling, the man Rolo fondly called Papa flicked the boy's forehead gently.

"Ow," Rolo said, cutely pouting and rubbing the spot Suzaku had just flicked him on.

"Rolo is being a naughty boy while Papa is away, right?" Suzaku said with a fond smile. His eyes then found the sight of Lelouch, panting for breath as he stood with his hand against the wall for support. "See, you have made Mama tired chasing after you."

For the first time, Rolo had decency to look apologetic. Lelouch did not know if he should be happy or annoyed at that. He was touched that his son felt sorry for his condition but it also implied that his condition surely looked really bad. That would not do, he thought as he walked to the two's direction. It was plain humiliating that a royal prince of The Holy Empire of Britannia was panting just after a short run chasing after his own son.

Once he was in front of his husband and son, Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "Bath, Rolo. Now!"

"Hm…" Suzaku raised one eyebrow at him. "No 'welcome home, Suzaku'? I'm disappointed, Lelouch."

"Suzaku!" he said in frustration at his husband who only smiled back at him. Sometimes he wondered if Suzaku smiled only to dispute him. But like always, he could never deny that smile and those eyes and, in general, his Suzaku. So he drew a breath, his eyes softened, and said, "Welcome back, Suzaku."

"Welcome back, Papa," Rolo also exclaimed and nuzzled into Suzaku's uniform deeper, making Lelouch suddenly aware of the fact that dirt was staining both of their clothes.

"Rolo!" he chided softly as he proceeded to take Rolo's from Suzaku's hold. "You are going to make Papa's uniform dirty, sweetheart."

Rolo looked up at him with his big violet eyes. "But…"

"Hush," he said, finally managed to take Rolo down and made him stand on his own feet. "Papa is tired and aren't you getting too old anyway to be carried by Papa?"

"But I saw Papa carrying Mama last night," Rolo said adamantly.

Hearing that seemingly innocent statement, Lelouch blushed hard and Suzaku chuckled. He should have known not to let Suzaku carrying him like that when people might see them. But… well, that time he was already too preoccupied to think straight… Suzaku really had a talent with…

Lelouch stopped his thought with much effort and tried to make his blush disappear. Suzaku only chuckled seeing his predicament and it did not help at all.

"That's…" he tried. "Different…"

Rolo tilted his head to one side, a trait that never failed to remind him of Suzaku, "How so?"

"Because Mama is Papa's bride," Suzaku explained as he ruffled Rolo's hair affectionately. "And Rolo is Papa's son. That's different, right?"

Rolo's eyes went impossibly wide as if he just learned something terribly grand. "Oh… I see!"

He almost rolled his eyes at Suzaku's way of explaining things. His husband really had a gift around children, he thought fondly. Maybe it was because his Suzaku was a big child himself, he thought with a snort.

"Come on, Rolo," he said to his son. "Let's get you to bath."

"But I still wanna play," Rolo whined cutely.

"Rolo…" he sighed before an inspiration struck him. "You can play in the bath with Mama. Won't it be fun? We can play in the water with much, much of bubbly foam."

"Really?" Rolo for the first time sounded enthusiastic over the prospect of bath. "Can Papa come and play with us too?"

Lelouch blinked. Slowly he glanced up to see Suzaku standing with a smirk that spelled something naughty in it. He did not feel like he wanted to know what Suzaku might suggest behind that smile.

"Uh…" he said. "Papa is busy, Rolo…"

"No, I don't," Suzaku said cheerfully, too cheerfully. "Let's take a bath together."

"Yay!" Rolo exclaimed before he dashed to his room's direction. "I will wait for Mama and Papa there… don't be slow!"

Lelouch watched his son until he disappeared from sight before he turned his face to meet Suzaku's. They stared at each other for a moment before Lelouch made the distance between them diminish. Now that Rolo was not around, Lelouch dared to press his lips, hard, to Suzaku's ready ones.

"Now that," Suzaku said after the kiss ended and they both had drawn back from each other for a breath of air. "Was what I call a proper welcome greeting after a tiring day full of nonsensical meetings."

There was no time for Lelouch to retort to that for Suzaku closed the distance between their faces yet again after he finished his speech. Arms wound around him tightly, lips pressed against his softly, gently, before they became bolder and fiercer. He did not mind, though. If anything, he wanted the kiss as much as Suzaku wanted it. But when he felt Suzaku's hand start creeping up his side in a very familiar manner, he drew back.

"You…" he began dangerously. "I hope you still have some bit of self preservation not to jump me in the bath."

"How about jumping you now?" Suzaku said with his lips positioned dangerously close to Lelouch's neck.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch chided though he did not budge when Suzaku finally dragged his tongue along the side of his neck. "Our son is waiting for us, you… _idiot_…"

"Pity," Suzaku said with a mock sigh of disappointment, releasing Lelouch's neck finally. "You love Rolo more than me."

"Oh, shut up!" he said, even though he knew that his Suzaku was only joking with him.

"Yes, Your Highness," Suzaku said with a smile as he brought Lelouch's right wrist to his lips. Leouch watched the tender display of affection with gentle eyes. He always loved it when Suzaku kissed his hand adoringly like that.

"Come on, we need to take a bath," he eyed Suzaku's uniform that was slightly dirtied by soil before he added in a haughty tone. "And that matter applies especially to you, Brigadier General Kururugi Suzaku. Bath. Now."

"I marched to battles and wars under the command of your voice, Lelouch," Suzaku said with a smirk. "Of course I will march to an innocent looking bathroom to take a bath with you and our son. Though it's a pity that I cannot do something more with you."

Lelouch only chuckled as his hand rose upward to weave his fingers amidst Suzaku's curls. Suddenly feeling bold, Lelouch placed a kiss on Suzaku's cheek and whispered in a very seductive voice into his ear. "You can always do something more with me afterward, though."

Without waiting for Suzaku's response, he disentangled himself from his husband's embrace and walked away from him. Though he could not see it with his back to Suzaku, he knew that Suzaku was eyeing him intensely. That was enough to make him shiver in anticipation and giddy in expectation.

Lelouch was glad he did not have any appointment for tomorrow. Kururugi Suzaku was always thorough with everything he did. He knew that. He appreciated that. And therefore it was safe for him to think he would not likely be able to come down from bed tomorrow if his Suzaku proved his thoroughness with him yet again that night.

- end -

(A/N: remember what we said about 'arranging the instalments in chronological order'? yeah, so please do pardon the jumping-back-and-forth-in-time between each instalment. We hope you enjoy this story. And we also hope you don't mind the sap. Honestly, it seems we are unable to write any instalment of Snapshots without involving some sap. As always, your reviews would very much be appreciated. Please do tell us your comment on this story and we would be forever grateful. Thank you for reading. Hope we'll see you again in the next instalments for, yes, there would be more.)


	6. Chapter 6

*******

**Title:** Snapshots

**Author:** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating:** PG13

**Pairing:** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers:** Not ours, still.

**Warning:** Let's try a bit of political issues this time, shall we…

*******

**Installment 6 – **A Quest of Loyalty

September, Japan, 2019 a.t.b.

The year 2018 a.t.b. should be recorded as a notable year for all the citizens of the Holy Empire of Britannia. During that year, there was not one, not two, but three royal marriages happened within the royal line of the empire. The crown prince, His Highness Prince Odysseus eu Britannia, had taken the hand of the first daughter of the Grand Archduke of Wales on the beginning of spring that year and married her according to the law of God and men. On June, amidst the sweet blooming roses of summer, His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia had finally vowed his entire life to His Lordship Kururugi Suzaku from Kyoto. And following the event, the first princess of the Holy Empire of Britannia, Guinevere su Britannia, entered her married life on the windy yet beautiful August, thus made the third and last royal marriages to happen within that memorable year.

It was surely something to be happy about. And His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia did feel happy about the whole ordeal. He was happy for his brother and his sister. And he was happy for himself since he knew it was surely what he had wanted and decided for himself, to be with his Suzaku, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in health and in sickness, until death do them part.

But still, there was something bothering his heart. There was turmoil within his mind that seemed unable to be calmed down. For while the year 2018 a.t.b. was a memorable year for the royal marriages that took place within said year, the year 2019 a.t.b. then should also be remembered for the birth of little princes to the Britannian royal lineage that happened within said year.

March 2019 a.t.b. marked the birth of the first son to the crown prince of Britannia, His Highness Prince Odysseus u Britannia. The whole empire celebrated the news. The wave of happiness spread over the land, and it was only multiplied when on July, Her Highness Princess Guinevere also safely delivered her firstborn son. 'Three weddings last year, two births this year, surely, there will be a great victory next year', the people of the empire used to say as they partied and celebrated in happiness.

Lelouch also took part in the celebration. He cherished the birth of his nephews. He was happy for his siblings. He felt grateful that the line to the throne of The Holy Empire of Britannia was secure. Yet he also felt an undeniable sadness in him as he thought of a certain thing.

'Three weddings last year, two births this year…'

It was the truth, he mused solemnly. For even though there were three weddings during the previous year, there would be no more than two births for the present year. For no matter how much he loved Suzaku, there were still things he was unable to give him. For even though he knew that Suzaku would surely make a great father, he knew that Suzaku would never be one in his lifetime.

He was Suzaku's spouse, he had taken his hand, vowed his entire life to him. There was nothing he would not do for his Suzaku, but Lelouch knew he would never be able to give him one very essential thing. He would never be able to give him children to continue his family line. And it was that thing that had been bothering him non-stop lately. And he knew he was not the only one who had been thinking over the matter.

For royals, the matter of successor to the family line was an essential matter. Lelouch knew that he had been living his life in a royal court to know the way of politics. It was a perfectly politically valid thing in the law of Britannia for royalty to declare a divorce under the reason that the partner was unable to produce any heir. So he was not really surprised when the whispers and half concealed rumors started to reach his ears regarding his very apparent inability to produce any heir to the line of Kururugi. In the Britannia mainland, it was not so intense since the well-being of a royal lineage from another country was not really something the Britannian monarch put their greatest interest on. Moreover his high status in the Britannian society provided him a strong barrier from any ill rumors to be spoken about him. But whenever he was in Japan, it was a different matter altogether.

And that time, it was getting worse. Because instead of hushed whispering, he heard a full conversation. Because instead of sideway comments, he heard a full confrontation. And though the conversation was not for his ears and the confrontation was not directed at him, he could not help but hear since the doors were thin and it was so easy to hear any conversation conducted within a closed room.

He was inside the Kururugi estate that time, visiting his dear father-in-law and doing his obligation as Suzaku's spouse to visit his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death. And like every time he visited Japan, Lelouch could hear the whispers following him, could feel the disapproving eyes of the nobilities landing on him, could see their sneers directed at him. He knew they were not really happy with his union with Suzaku due to many factors. He knew they were envious toward his father-in-law for he now had such a good relationship with the Britannian royals after the marriage. He knew some of them resented him for they had planned to wed their daughter to Suzaku instead. He knew some of them still felt it was perverted for two men to marry. He knew some of them viewed him as worthless considering he would never able to produce any heir.

So many reasons, indeed, and some could be seen as reasonable while others were plain ridiculous. But Lelouch knew that he was a royal prince of Britannia. He had his dignity to uphold. So upon receiving such treatment, he would only keep his posture straight and behaved like what his father dictated him. He knew he should never get himself affected by those rumors. He knew he was above getting pissed by some envious politicians trying to sully his name.

Yet he also knew that the things those so-called envious politicians said behind his back were true, in a way or another. And even though he had already vowed never to let those people get the satisfaction to see him crushed by their ill natured sideway comments, it still gave him enough reason to feel affronted. It stood to reason, then, why he suddenly felt so grim when he overheard yet another comment about him when he was about to see his spouse.

He was halfway to knock on the door when a stray piece of conversation reached his ears, making his hand stilled and his heart skipped a beat.

"…what is so wrong in taking a mistress?" the voice from within the room said. "It is reasonable considering that you would not get any children from that consort of yours."

"For how many times do I have to repeat myself?" Suzaku's voice replied, sounding so tense and heavily laden with emotion. "Lelouch is my lawfully wedded spouse, and I will be loyal to him."

"This has nothing to do with loyalty. We do not ask you to divorce him. This is a profitable union for Japan in any case. Naturally we would not want to ruin it," a second voice said.

"I married Lelouch because I love him, not because I want to gain profit from our marriage."

"Yet love alone would not bring you any heir to your family," the first voice continued. "Please think over your family's well-being and not only your personal desires, Lord Kururugi, think about your father and your ancestors."

"As far as I know, my father has nothing to complain about my marriage life," Suzaku's cold voice replied.

"Lord Genbu is old, and he does not at all times know what was best for his household."

"Gentlemen, I order you to refrain yourself from insulting the head of the Kururugi household!"

"We would not have to insult him if you are not so unwilling to take our proposals and just take a mistress already, a Japanese mistress who can give you some heirs to your household."

"Oh, so in the end it's all back to that matter, right? Tell me, Lord Kirihara, after all these years are you still unable to find any suitor who could stand the idea of marrying your daughter and therefore keep pushing her into a marriage with me?"

"I will not have you insulting my daughter…"

"And I will not have you insulting my spouse!"

At that point, Lelouch felt he had heard enough. Bracing himself, he let his knuckles drop against the hard wooden frame of the door. He knocked, three times he knocked. And all voices ceased from within the room. Silence reigned in the air until he could hear Suzaku's voice, biding him to enter.

Upon entering the room, Lelouch noticed many things at once. He noticed that it was indeed Lord Kirihara and his adjutant who accompanied Suzaku in the room that time. He noticed how Suzaku's lips suddenly formed a thin line. He noticed how Lord Kirihara suddenly looked a bit shamefaced as if he was afraid that the entire conversation was overheard by him. He noticed the tense atmosphere in the room, and he acknowledged its existence as he walked to Suzaku's direction.

"Milord," he addressed Suzaku formally, like he always did in public. And with that single word, the other three people in the room seemed to snap back into their senses. Hastily, they stood up from their seat and greeted him. And Lelouch also noticed how both Lord Kirihara and his adjutant took extra amount of respect in their tone, a fact that made him smile ironically inside.

Outside, he smiled courteously as he said, "I am so sorry for disturbing your conversation, Lord Kirihara, but I'm afraid I have been asked by my father-in-law to fetch his son."

"Oh, please do not say so," Lord Kirihara said dismissively. "It was not an important conversation, after all."

Lelouch let his eyes glanced to the man's direction ever so surreptitiously. "Was it?"

Lord Kirihara did not answer. Truthfully, Lelouch did not expect any answer himself, yet he was unable to tear his gaze away. Somehow he seemed unable to avert his eyes from the man who grew more restless under his gaze.

"Dear," Suzaku's voice stopped his silent gaze and made him turn to face his husband. "You said that father required my presence. Would you kindly escort me to where he is?"

He blinked. His smile easily slid back into place.

"Certainly, Milord," he said to Suzaku. Then, turning his face to the direction where Lord Kirihara stood, he said to him. "Please excuse us, Lord Kirihara, you two could possibly continue your conversation later on, but during such occasion, may I too be included in your conversation?"

The tense atmosphere somehow became even more oppressing in the room after he finished his sentence. Suzaku stared at him, disbelief was clearly shown on his face. He was not the only one to possess such expression. Lelouch noticed how those three people, apart from him, seemed to sport a look of disbelief on their faces.

He too, felt a sense of disbelief at his own suggestion. Yet he knew he could not running away from the issue anymore. He was already fed up with all the talking behind his back, with all the times he evaded the problem. He was fed up with running away, therefore that time, he intended to face the problem head on and solve it.

No matter how painful it was for him.

"Lelouch," Suzaku carefully called him. "Whatever did you mean by that?"

"I am also part of the Kururugi Family," he said with his calm voice that belied none of his painful emotion inside as he steeled himself to say his next words. "So of course the matter of the heir to the family is also of my consideration. Please do not exclude me from your discussion, gentlemen, I only ask that."

"Lelouch," Suzaku's voice held a stressed tone in it. "What kind of nonsense are you speaking?"

"I am aware of my limitation," he continued, trying so hard not to let Suzaku's hard expression bother him. It was already hard for him to admit that, and looking at Suzaku would make it even harder. "And I have been living in a royal court to know that a matter of successor is an important thing for any noble. I, as the consort to the Kururugi household, absolutely want the best for this family. I know that there are things I cannot do, things that other might be able to do for this family. I accept it, but… I will not accept it if such important thing is decided… without my taking part in the decision. Therefore…"

"That's enough!" Suzaku's sharp voice cut his sentence off. "Gentlemen, please do excuse us."

Lelouch felt his wrist snatched by his husband and soon after he could feel Suzaku pulled at his wrist, dragging him out of the room. Suzaku was angry, he could sense that. Suzaku's hold on his wrist was painful, the way he dragged him was not in the least bit taking his comfort into consideration, he was walking too fast and the tug at his wrist was harsh, unyielding.

He knew what made Suzaku angry. He was angry at first of the prospect of people conspiring behind him to lay Suzaku in a bed with another woman to get an offspring from the union. He was angry at first to have people plotting behind his back. He was angry at first at his own inability to be a perfect consort for Suzaku. But after so long, the anger had melted down and it was replaced by a dejected acceptance. There was something he could not do, no matter how much he wished it. And there was something he could not do, no matter how important it was for Suzaku.

It was hard, and Suzaku made it harder. And suddenly Lelouch felt so helpless, so dejected, as he viewed the situation at hand. Those nobles were angry at him. Suzaku was angry at him. And even he was angry at himself. He felt so useless he felt like crying.

He was so busy trying to sort out his emotion that he failed to realize at first when Suzaku stopped his stride. Yet he noticed the absence of harsh tugging at his wrist. He noticed the feeling of fingers gently landing on his cheek.

He was the royal prince of The Holy Empire of Britannia, Lelouch reminded himself, therefore he should be strong, never show weakness, and give his best for those he cherish. He let no tears. He let no smile. He just stared calmly back at Suzaku, his Suzaku, whose fingers still lay gently against his cheek.

"It's not really polite to make our exit like that," Lelouch spoke softly, because no matter how strong he tried to become, there was never a time when he could keep his emotion fully hidden before Suzaku.

"Why did you say all those things back there?" Suzaku asked him, dismissing his statement as if it was unimportant. Maybe for him, it was indeed so.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked back. "I am neither blind nor deaf. I know that they have been pressuring you about this whole successor issue."

The hand retreated from his cheek and Suzaku's eyes were hard.

"You mean you really meant your words?" Suzaku asked. "You mean you really have no hard feeling upon the thought of me being with another woman? I never thought of you as that kind of person, Lelouch."

"Suzaku, please…" he sighed. "I also don't want this…"

"Then why did you suggest it?"

"Because I know my limitation," he harshly said. "I love you and I'm married to you. Therefore I want the best for you and your family. But if it is something that I cannot give… something that someone else is able to give…"

"But what if it is something that I myself do not want? What, then?"

"Suzaku, this is not only about you. This is the problem for the whole of your family…"

"Yes, I know that. This is the Kururugi family problem, and I will solve it myself without having you doing stupid thing like that."

He took a breath to steady his erratic heart beat, to keep his hands from trembling, to keep his voice from shaking.

"And I thought I am also part of the Kururugi family, Suzaku, after I vowed myself to you or am I mistaken?"

He did not intend his words to be spoken with such a cold tone. But the look of hurt and disconcert on Suzaku's face let him know that he had failed to keep his emotion in check. Suddenly he felt really ashamed of himself, moreover when he turned his face to a side, unable to see that look on Suzaku's face, unable to face his husband.

"You better go to father, he is expecting you," he said softly, that time he did not bother to hide the trembling of his voice.

"I will talk to father," Suzaku said, his tone was soft. "But after that we will have to talk, okay, Lelouch?"

He did not answer. He could not answer. He knew he should answer but he could not. He even could not turn his face to watch Suzaku walking away from him, he could not raise his face to see Suzaku's receding form as he walked to their father's room. He knew he should have accompanied him to meet their father, but he could not.

He was upset, and he did not want to offend anyone, especially Suzaku, since he knew that even though he was upset Suzaku was not really the one to blame. And he was the one who decided it for himself. There was no use to be a whiny soul over something that he had decided. Sure it was painful for him, sure he did not like it, but he had decided it.

He took a breath and reminded himself that he was Lelouch vi Britannia, the royal prince of The Holy Empire of Britannia. With that he retreated to his own personal quarters and stayed there for the whole afternoon until a knock on his door disrupted his thoughts.

Opening his door, he was not in the least bit surprised seeing Suzaku standing outside. He merely made way for his husband to enter the room. He merely gestured for Suzaku to sit on his reading chair. He merely sat beside his Suzaku. And he kept his silence, since he did not know if he should say anything, if he wanted to say anything. He felt numb. But he still could feel the warmth of Suzaku's embrace as the man took him into his arms.

Lelouch never before thought that the sensation of Suzaku's lips kissing the side of his face could send him into such explosion of numerous emotions within himself. Yet that time, with that simple chaste kiss, he felt all his buried emotions surged free. He felt the sensation of helplessness overcome him. He felt thankful, really thankful, that he had Suzaku. He felt really thankful that Suzaku was there, to hug him tight, to give him his shoulder to lean on to, to support him, to love him.

"Lelouch…" his Suzaku said softly, his lips were so very close to his ear. "Lelouch, why? Why, if it pains you so much like this? I don't want to see you like this. Lelouch, why?"

He gave a sarcastic snort, "Why what? Why did I tell the truth?"

"Lelouch," Suzaku's gentle voice held a hint of harsh edge to it. Hearing that, Lelouch released a resigned sigh. With a bit of reluctance, he disentangled himself from Suzaku's embrace. He was calm now, or at least, he tried to be calm as he opened his mouth and spoke.

"I live in a royal court, Suzaku. I know the dirty world of politics," he said. "I live with the awareness about my so many half siblings. I acknowledged my father's many consorts. I could not understand my mother at first, why she agreed to share her husband with so many others but… when I grew up, I realize it's not essentially the matter of whether you want it or not… there's always the big picture to be considered. And for this matter, I know… that I have to accept this. Because that's the only thing I can do that can satisfy every party… and solve this problem…"

"It won't," Suzaku said with a decisive tone in his voice. "Such thing won't ever solve the problem, won't ever satisfy every party, because you're not happy, Lelouch, because you don't want this."

He gave a somewhat strained smile. "It's not that simple, Suzaku…"

"It is that simple," Suzaku insisted. He had that determined glint in his eyes, yet his expression was soft when he reached for Lelouch's hand, when he let their hands entwined. "Do you know why my father agreed on our marriage?"

That seemingly unrelated question took Lelouch aback. He gave a confused stare yet answered nonetheless. "Because it's beneficial… I guess…"

"No," Suzaku said. "Because I love you at first sight, that's why."

Lelouch blinked rapidly. "I… beg your pardon?"

"You know that my father proposed a political marriage to secure the bond between Japan and Britannia, right?" Suzaku said wistfully. "Well, to cut the long story short, your father somehow saw the crack on the proposal and thus you ended up as the candidate for my bride. Father was furious back then, but I saw your photograph and… I cannot say I loved you right then, but I knew I would like to know this beautiful boy with curious purple eyes, I would like to make friends with him, I would like to let him into my life, and that was why my father accepted the proposal. That was how we could be together now."

Lelouch was silent, transfixed on his seat as he heard the story coming from Suzaku's lips.

"You see, my father did not decide our marriage for Japan or for Kururugi household," Suzaku continued. "He knew I loved you so he followed my selfish request and accepted this whole ordeal. My father put my happiness first because he loved me. And I love you, Lelouch, so very much. Can you blame me if I also want to put your happiness first?"

Lelouch was not quite sure if Suzaku's words were meant as a question or not. But he knew if it was indeed a question, the answer would be 'no'. He could never blame Suzaku when his husband was looking at him lovingly like that.

"I don't want to burden you and father," he whispered. "I would feel really guilty if the line of Kururugi died with you…"

"Don't be so dramatic," Suzaku chuckled. "I still have an uncle and he has several children."

"But your uncle is not of the main Kururugi family," he retorted. "Won't your relatives and peers object to the idea of naming someone from the branch family the successor of Kururugi name?"

"Oh, they would not, at least not openly, we still have enough power, you know," Suzaku said dismissively. Then, seeing that Lelouch was still having a look of worry on his face, he smiled. "Don't burden yourself by thinking over this matter too much, Lelouch. I'm more willing to stand their objections than to have you silently torture yourself as I am forced to entertain some strange woman whom I don't even love."

Lelouch had to smile at that. "You make me sound like a pathetic heroine in a tragedy."

"You indeed sounded like a pathetic heroine in a tragedy," Suzaku said with a chuckle. "My Lelouch is supposed to be a proud and snobbish little prince who would do things as he sees fit, regardless of what others might think. Why the hell is he now behaving like a hopeless tragic heroine is beyond me."

"So you are saying you prefer me to be a selfish villain than to be a damsel in distress?" Lelouch asked teasingly.

"I'm not that partial to women, after all," Suzaku admitted, his laughter rang clear in the room. And when he gathered Lelouch into his arms again, he met no resistance. When he tried to kiss his spouse again, he got nothing but acceptance.

"I've talked with father about this," Suzaku spoke up again. "He said he would trust this entire matter of naming my successor to us. You are part of the Kururugi family, Lelouch, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like you did not belong here. So, we would do this together, we would find a way which does not involve my finding a mistress or something… gosh, even the prospect of it scares me… it might be hard, I guess, to make those nobles accept this idea, but we'll do this together, that is if you still want to stay beside me and do this with me."

Within Suzaku's embrace, Lelouch was silent as he listened to his spouse's words. He had a smile on his lips as those words came out from Suzaku's lips. He had a small smile on his lips as he nestled his face deeper into Suzaku's shoulders, feeling somewhat stupid for being so overly fretful. He had a small smile on his lips when Suzaku stared at him apprehensively after he finished his sentence.

He had a small smile on his lips when he flicked his finger to Suzaku's forehead gently, enjoying the flinch that his husband was making.

"For better or worse," he said. "For richer or poorer, in health and in sickness, until death do us part. I've promised you that, right?"

"Yeah…" Suzaku said, capturing those blameworthy fingers and brought them to his lips. "I'm sorry that I somewhat estranged you from this whole family mess, thinking that I could protect you by doing so when in reality I only made it harder for you."

"And I'm sorry for losing my temper back then," Lelouch said as he traced Suzaku's lips with his fingers. "I love you."

He replaced his fingers with his own pair of lips soon afterward. The kiss they shared was innocent, was sweet, was brief, but it was heartfelt and by the time their lips disengaged from each other, Lelouch realized that his inner turmoil had been pacified, that his emotions had all calmed down, that he was so glad and thankful that he could love someone named Kururugi Suzaku.

He chuckled a little when Suzaku dropped a chaste kiss to the tip of his nose. And he outwardly laughed when His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Kururugi Suzaku ran his fingers amidst his hair and whispered with a playful voice into his ear.

"Now that the making up has been taken well care of, how about if we move to the making out session?"

He did not give any verbal answer to that, but Lelouch thought that Suzaku could assume for himself what his answer to his question might be, if his kiss afterward could be of any indication.

- end -

(A/N: you'd have thought we already forgot this little piece of story, right? Sadly, we haven't :D sorry for taking so long to update due to one and other things. Thank you for reading this story. We hope you had a good reading time and as always, should you give us your review on this story, we would be very grateful. We hope to see you again in the next installment. Yes, there would be more installment… think perhaps we should get punished for spreading this much pathetic-sugary-hopeless-sap?)


	7. Chapter 7

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**Title :** Snapshots

**Author :** DnKS – giRLs

**Rating :** PG13

**Pairing :** SuzaLulu

**Disclaimers :** Not ours… simple, right?

**Warning :** Remember 'Pure Hearted Love'? Remember the sap? Good…

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**Instalment 7 – **Over My Dead Body

April, Britannia Mainland, 2023 a.t.b.

Kururugi Suzaku had already suspected to see an irritated Lelouch before he even raised his face from the documents he was reading to look at the approaching young man. It was the sound of his boots—how there seemed to be a hint of haste and a tad more force in the every clicking sound those expensive boots made in contact with the floor. He smirked a little and looked up, just in time to see Lelouch finally arrived at his side. And his expectation did not come to waste for there was surely a light frown gracing Lelouch's forehead.

"Good day, dear Sir," he said endearingly. "What could I possibly do for you in this lovely day?"

Lelouch's lips twitched and the smile he gave looked so feigned that Suzaku needed his every ounce of self control to hold his laughter.

"Good day to you to, My Lord," Lelouch said sweetly. "There are so many things you can do for me and for a start, perhaps you'd care to shed that useless act of forced formalities between us."

He let out a chuckle and took Lelouch's hand in his, guiding him to take a seat on his side. Those open documents on the desk in front of him he pushed aside, there would be time to continue his observation on them. That thing being done, he focused his attention back to Lelouch who seemed to continue seething in silence.

"So I guess," he began. "Your meeting with His Majesty was not entirely pleasant."

"Not really," Lelouch said scathingly. "It will be more apt to say that my meeting with His Majesty was _entirely not_ pleasant."

He only hummed in response, letting Lelouch knew that he was listening and urging him to talk further. He knew that there was still more to it that Lelouch wanted to say. Being married to His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia for nearly five years made him know that when Lelouch got annoyed, he would hardly get satisfied before he vented his annoyance in the way that stage players used to employ when they were acting in a tragic drama and, in several occasions, planned his revenge in such a cunning way that made his brother, Prince Schneizel, really proud.

"My father, His Majesty the Emperor," Lelouch started, his voice was calm and his tone was cynical. Suzaku started to get a bit worried—Lelouch usually only used that voice when he was terribly irritated. "Has just decided to hold a Grand Ball on Aries Imperial Villa next month."

He eyed Lelouch cautiously. Usually he was fine with all those dance parties and celebrations that the Royal Household used to conduct. If he suddenly behaved like that toward a seemingly typical dance party, there had to be something more in it.

"A Grand Ball," he said. "For what occasion?"

And it was definitely a murderous glare that Lelouch threw at him when he hissed, "What occasion? Oh, it's merely a Grand Ball held to search for a proper suitor for my dear little sister Nunnally."

Ah, Suzaku thought, that really explained the surly mood and near-lethal look Lelouch had at that time being. When something concerning Nunnally's well-being was mentioned, Lelouch would always get protective over his little sister. Even after so many years, it seemed that in Lelouch's eyes, Nunnally vi Britannia still remained to be his little baby sister to protect and cherish.

Suzaku knew that extent of sister complex might not be healthy. But it was kind of cute.

"Nunnally has grown into a very beautiful young lady," he noted, being entirely sincere in his statement. "It would be hard trying to find a perfect suitor for her."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at him. "And why do you sound like you are supporting this notion?"

He blinked. "What notion?"

"The notion of putting my dear sister to a political marriage," Lelouch screeched. "By God Almighty and all the Saints, she is just a little girl! How could they think of handing her to marriage just yet?"

Suzaku stared at the fuming Lelouch. He was so very close to laughing, but one look to Lelouch's direction told him that it would be the most unwise movement for Lelouch looked every bit serious and high-strung.

"Lelouch…" he said carefully. "I don't think that Nunnally can be described as a little girl anymore. She would be nineteen years old this fall."

"She is _just_ nineteen years old," Lelouch protested. "It's too soon to think of such unnecessary thing like her marriage."

Suzaku could not help it. He chuckled. "When you were nineteen years old, I remember you're already married to me."

Lelouch huffed, "That's different."

He raised one eyebrow, "How so?"

Lelouch gave an exasperated sigh. "For one thing, our engagement is the result of our fathers' drunken conversation and my father's paranoia combined with his pureblood supremacy principle," Lelouch said. "And second, you can hardly use us as an example for our marriage is not really something that might fall into the category of conventional."

Suzaku's chuckle turned into snorts. As if absently, he caught Lelouch's hand and held it within his own. "Not conventional, eh?"

"But of course," Lelouch blinked innocently at him, but his hand in Suzaku's hold squeezed back. "Let's see, how about the fact that we were merely two boys who have never met each other before we got engaged at ten? Or the fact that one of those boys, namely you, disappeared on his fiancée, namely me, for years before he proposed in such an obnoxious way previously untapped by human kind? Oh, and let's not forget about the wedding ceremony and the wedding dress the 'bride' was forced to wear, regardless of the fact that there was _no_ bride involved in the wedding."

"When you say it like that, it does sound _really_ unconventional," Suzaku said with a good-natured grin. "But that does not change the fact that you still love me."

"Aren't we being overly confident today?" Lelouch said with mock haughty tone, but the smile he sported on his lips belied his words.

"I have you as mine and for me it's enough reason to be confident," he said playfully.

"Oh, please stop with those corny lines, Suzaku, I'm currently in my infuriated mood and you are trying to convert me into a blushing, lovesick, mortified person with your lame pick up lines."

"You love those 'lame pick up lines', nonetheless," he remarked. But then, realizing that there was still a problem needed to be solved, Suzaku's gaze turned solemn though still gentle. "Come on, back to our main topic. What is so bad, actually, in having a ball for Nunnally?"

Lelouch still gave him that incredulous look, but he seemed to be calmed down a bit. At least, Suzaku thought, he did not have that murderous and manic glint in his eyes anymore.

"I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of using this ball to search for Nunnally's future consort. It makes it sound like they are holding this merely to secure political ties," Lelouch explained. "I know that as royalties, we have limited choices in our future partner. I know that for us, marriage means more than the joining of two people in love. I know we should always think of the political aspect in the royal marriages, how it should benefit the empire and our people. But I don't want my little sister to be a bargaining chip, a mere tool to satisfy our political agenda. Nunnally deserves to fall in love, to pursue her own romance, to make her own choice."

Throughout the explanation, Suzaku kept his silence. Yet he still kept his hand clasping Lelouch's hand, letting him know that he understood what he was trying to say.

In a way, Suzaku did understand. His position in court, back in his homeland, might be not as high as Lelouch's, but he understood the working world of aristocracy. He could also understand Lelouch's protective nature toward his sister. He understood quite well and because of it, he dared to speak up his mind on the matter.

"I agree that Nunnally deserves to make her choice," he said. "And that's why we're having this ball, right? If this marriage is going to be a mere political liaison, neither The King nor The Queen would come up with this ball idea, don't you think? It would be easier to just pick one very influential earl or something and force Nunnally into the marriage. They still give her the choice. I still want to give her the choice. Don't you also want to give her the choice, Lelouch?"

Lelouch was silent, and Suzaku could somehow see how dejected he looked. "I seem to have… a hard time letting her go…"

"Now you sound like an old mother."

The patented sharp glare being thrown to his direction did not scare Suzaku even a bit. Years of being the receiving end of such glare somehow made him immune to it, something that Lelouch oftentimes told him as the grand injustice of the universe.

"It won't be that bad," he said, "You love dancing, don't you? And I think Nunnally would love it too to meet up with her friends. Didn't you say you could not wait to try on that new formal suit you bought last month?"

"Are you trying to persuade me to warm up to the idea of holding that ball?" Lelouch asked in incredulity.

"You know, Lelouch, if you only realized that _now_, I think you should take some rest from your work because I can see how it affects you," he half-joked. "Besides, this way, you will have a better chance to observe Nunnaly's suitors, won't you? She would never go against your words and you can judge for yourselves, among those gentlemen invited to the ball, who might be the one… suitable enough in your eyes to be your future brother-in-law."

"You got really good at this diplomacy talk," Lelouch noted with a hint of distaste.

"You taught me well," Suzaku responded calmly. "So, there's no harm in coming to the ball, right?"

The sigh that Lelouch gave let Suzaku know, even before Lelouch gave his 'yes' verbally, that he had succeeded in coaxing him. He grinned. It was a good thing, too, that he succeeded, because he knew the fight that would erupt between Lelouch and His Majesty regarding the whole Grand Ball issue.

And just like that, Suzaku thought with an amused smile, he managed to get them out of a possible destructive fight. And just like that, two weeks from that time, he was standing with Lelouch and Nunnally in the Grand Ballroom of Aries Imperial Villa, watching over the many lords and ladies populated the hall.

Or, in Lelouch's case, criticized the many lords who happened to be within his field of vision.

"Oh, you cannot be serious," Lelouch said in incredulity. "That man is wearing a yellow frock coat to a ball, Suzaku! Yellow frock coat!"

Suzaku frowned slightly, "I think it suits him."

Lelouch promptly pressed two fingers to his temple, looking very much distressed for all the world to see. "Oh, for the love of Heaven," he said. "I'm almost insulted at the thought that someone with such terrible taste in fashion like you can be my husband."

Suzaku only snorted and looked aside, meeting Nunnally's amused eyes. He had learnt not to take Lelouch's words to heart when his dear spouse was letting his histrionic side run free.

"Well, I believe that my taste is not that bad in general," he said.

"I have to agree with Suzaku, brother," Nunnally said sweetly. "After all, he chose you to be his bride, and I think it shall confirm what a good taste my brother-in-law has."

Lelouch blushed at that and Suzaku chuckled. "See, even Nunnally agrees with me."

"You are just having fun teaming up against me," Lelouch muttered. "Heaven forbids if brother Schneizel is also here; you all would someday be the death of me, you know?"

"You are just a bit too gloomy, brother," Nunnally chided. "Cheer up, it's a ball and people should be making merry, not being miserable in the corner. It's time for dance and merriment and I would be damned if I let this night pass without having a dance or two."

Lelouch sighed, "Yes, I think… wait, Nunnally, where are you going?"

"To the dance floor, surely."

"No! I mean… Suzaku!" Lelouch all but shoved Suzaku to Nunnally's general direction then he glared, really glared, at his spouse. "Escort her!"

"Why don't you, yourself, escort her if you are so persistent?" Suzaku asked, amusement was apparent in his voice.

"I need to tuck Rolo to bed first," Lelouch huffed, eyes darting to take a glance at his pocket watch. "So I hope, Lord Kururugi, that you would protect the virtue of my dear sister while I'm away and _do not let anyone suspicious get near her_, understand?"

Suzaku humored his Lelouch by straightening his back and straighten his posture. "Yes, Your Highness. And I presume 'anyone suspicious' also include those gentlemen with dubious fashion sense?"

"Why of course," Lelouch said in a serious tone though he was smiling. "Now go hit the dance floor, but remember you still owe me a dance."

Suzaku chanced a brief kiss to Leouch's lips before he took Nunnally's hand and led her to the dance floor. There were already several people there, dancing happily to the music. But somehow, when his gaze landed on Nunnally's youthful face, he knew that there was no woman there more beautiful than his beloved sister-in-law.

"I almost think that Lelouch is right," he said when he led her dancing to the music. "You are really beautiful, Nunnally, that I want to protect you from anyone trying to woo you."

Nunnally giggled in front of her, "Oh, Suzaku, you're really a flatterer."

"But it's true," he said as he dipped her body slightly, supporting her slim waist with his sure arm. A step here, another there, and they danced faster, slipping amidst the so many pairs dancing on the floor. "Though perhaps I'm not as paranoid as Lelouch is toward some guy with yellow frock coat."

"My brother was at first so very paranoid toward this strange Japanese boy who showed up with several uprooted sunflowers on our palace one day," Nunnally said. "But we all know how that particular episode progressed, don't we?"

He smiled, remembering that day when he first met Lelouch. It was already years ago. Time really did pass in an alarming speed.

"I want you to find your love, Nunnally," he said earnestly. "Lelouch and I want nothing but your happiness. I guess that's part of the reason why Lelouch is so hard to please toward this ball thing. You know how much of a worrywart he can be when it involves you."

He saw Nunnally sigh in his arms. "My brother has the right to worry and I appreciate his concern," she said. "But I wish he could take it to his mind that I can make my own decisions, that I can speak for myself and take the responsibilities for my action. I am Nunnally vi Britannia, after all."

On that moment, when he gazed into those blue eyes, Suzaku saw nothing but determination not unlike what he always found in Lelouch's eyes. Those two royal siblings did have such strength in them, such fierce passion and determination that always awed him.

Nunnally was right, he thought as they ended the dance. He believed her when she said that she could make her own choice, when she said that she was willing to take the responsibilities for her action. She had grown up to be a perfect lady of the court and perhaps, it was time for him to give her the trust, the freedom to do things as what her heart desired.

He bent down to kiss her hand and with a smile, he told her, "I have done my part, so now you do yours."

She looked at him in mild puzzlement, but before she had the chance to say anything, a young man in deep maroon suit approached them and asked for the lady's hand for the next dance. Without hesitation he released Nunnally's hand and let the man—the young Viscount of Montague if he was not mistaken—took her hand. He nodded at them both, but he kept a stern gaze toward the young noble when he told him, "Take care of the lady."

Suzaku let them go after he received the affirmative of his request. He managed to catch Nunnally's thankful smile before they were swept away amidst the many dancing pairs there. He knew Lelouch would probably skin him alive when he knew that he had just let Nunnally go with a stranger, but he dared to take his chance. At least the young viscount did not wear yellow, he thought with an amused smile. And at least even if Lelouch indeed became angry at him, he felt it was worth it only to see Nunnally's grateful smile.

But now, he had no partner for the next dance and Lelouch was not back yet. He started contemplating of going to the banquet table to get some drink when and he caught the sight of a lone lady standing on the side of the dance floor. He smiled as he recognized her. It was a ball, after all, so—like what Nunnally had said—he would be damned if he did not get a dance or two.

He approached Her Highness Princess Euphemia li Britannia and bowed in front of her, "May I have the next dance?"

Euphemia smiled at him and offered her hand, "That depends, I'm afraid. Would I find myself subjected to the wrath of your spouse afterward?"

"Like Lelouch would get angry at you for dancing with me," Suzaku said, taking the hand. "Chances are, he would get angry at me for not behaving courteously enough to you."

The princess laughed heartily but she let Suzaku lead her to a slow waltz. "I can somehow sympathize with Nunnally tonight."

He only raised his eyebrow. And under his silent inquiry Euphemia continued, "Lelouch could really be a protective brother at times… or perhaps I should have said all the times."

"Ah, yes," he said as a memory resurfaced to the forefront of his mind. "I remember how Princess Cornelia also threw a fuss at your betrothal."

"Nunnally and I, we are both blessed and cursed with protective older siblings," she said with a small chuckle before her smile turned somewhat mischievous. "But Nunnally has you as her brother-in-law."

"What about me as her brother-in-law?"

"Well," Euphy seemed to consider her words for a moment. "You did let her go to dance with other men; I needed to persuade my sister for a constant two hours before she finally conceded."

"I just think it's fair to give Nunnally the chance to choose for herself," Suzaku said. "Even though I'm afraid Lelouch would throw me away from his bedroom when he knows what I have done. That, if he did not decide to strangle me to death first."

"Oh, well, he does look a bit annoyed right now," Euphy commented playfully.

"Huh?" Suzaku said and when they turned a circle, he could see Lelouch standing on the side of the dance floor, observing him. He did seem annoyed, and it made Suzaku gulp nervously. "Right. Well… if this be my last memory of the earthly world, at least I can die happy knowing that the last thing I did before my death was dancing with a beautiful princess in a royal ball like in those fairytales."

"I think Lelouch loves you too much to actually strangle you to death. Though it's highly possible that he throws you away from his bedroom," Euphy commented.

The music ended then and they finished the last step of their dance. Suzaku gave one last bow before he turned his body and came face to face with his frowning spouse.

He gulped. On his side, Euphy gave a curtsey before she dashed off with a somewhat amused chuckle. And seeing that he was alone to face what he supposed to be Lelouch's imminent wrath, Suzaku tried to keep his calm. And somewhat failing for he could feel his eye twitch.

"I see that someone has neglected his escorting duty," Lelouch remarked with a rise of eyebrow.

"Ah well," Suzaku tried to say with a chuckle. His eyes searched for Nunnally's graceful form and he caught her dancing with a particular gentleman he remembered so well, the very same gentleman in yellow frock coat. He flinched. Damn it. "Yes… I mean… I swear I did not… Nunnally deserves to dance, you know, and I… only let her have that freedom…"

Lelouch shook his head softly and snorted. "This place starts to suffocate me. Care to join me on the balcony?"

Without waiting for his answer, Lelouch already walked away. Suzaku had no choice but to follow him, so follow him he did and they found themselves in one of the open balconies that Aries Imperial Villa had.

Lelouch walked until he rested his back against the railing. He was looking at him, but Suzaku was surprised to see him smiling slightly.

"So, care to explain how come you misinterpret my order of 'do not let anyone suspicious near her'?" Lelouch asked.

"Er," he said. "I did not hand her over to that gentleman, I swear."

Lelouch chuckled, as if having his husband being nervous in front of him was an amusing thing. Then again, perhaps for him it indeed was.

"Oh, never mind," he said. "I don't think I can stop her from having her dance now even if I try. Let her have her fun."

Suzaku let out a brief sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad that you can think that way."

"Hm?" Lelouch eyed him. "Oh, true, I don't want Nunnally to get… how do I say it, I want to protect her and I only want the best for… oh Heaven I can't believe I actually say this, her _suitor_. But she looks so happy, and I must be someone very cruel if I try to stop her now."

Lelouch had a contemplative look for a moment before his expression turned sour. "But I would never agree to it if that yellow frock coat gentleman tries to woo her hand."

Suzaku could not help it, he laughed, hard. He stared at Lelouch, who had a smirk of his own, and for the umpteenth times in his life felt amazed toward that amazing and beautiful man whom he had taken as his spouse. He shook his head, trying to stop his laughter, and gently took Lelouch's hand on his own.

"Let's get back inside," he said, "I still owe you a dance."

"I nearly thought you forgot," Lelouch said, easily falling into step beside him.

He stole a quick kiss to Lelouch's cheek, whispering, "I wouldn't forget."

"And you wouldn't stop being corny, yes, I think we all have known about that," Lelouch said. "Come on, perhaps we could get close to where Nunnally and that gentleman are dancing. Perhaps I can accidentally step on his foot so he knows that his hideous costume does not meet my approval."

Suzaku shook his head in mock-despair but he grinned. "Whatever suits your fancy, Your Highness."

Together, they entered the Ballroom again, where Suzaku did finally take Lelouch to dance. And somehow they were able to get near to Nunally and her partner. But as to whether Lelouch did step in the poor gentleman's foot or not was a confidential matter that Suzaku preferred not to talk about. Yet it sufficed to say that His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia had a very disconcerting—and some people might even dub it as downright evil—smirk on his lips somewhere during his dance that night.

**End**

(**A/N:** …you'd have thought we already forgot about this fic, no? Tough luck. This is the first time for us to write for this universe using Suzaku's perspective, hope we did well. Thank you for reading, and, like always, your reviews would be very much appreciated.)


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